Patches of Blue
by twifantasy
Summary: Quil had always been there for Claire, and he always would be there. As they marry, they face a whole new world with each other. Claire is pregnant, and they are both terrified. Together, they take on the future. Sequel to How To Deal, That Girl, Bet Me, and Leah's Happily Ever After, but can be read alone as well.
1. Chapter 1

Patches of Blue

**CHAPTER ONE**

From the very beginning, I knew that my future was set for me. I couldn't even begin to imagine a life without Quil. He was my life. This fact became very apparent to me as I walked into the cafeteria on the first day of my last week of high school. When I looked back on the last four years of my life, some moments had sped by lightning fast, and others had dragged dully. My times with Quil were always the fast memories, whereas the ones in this building were generally the slower ones.

There have been many changes in La Push. The 'original' wolf pack had nearly doubled in size. After Nessie was born, the Cullens had been through a major encounter with the Volturi. At that time, there had been a major outbreak of wolves on the La Push reservation. The names of the wolves were Caleb, Jeremy, Matt, Lucas, Nathan, Kyle, and Wyatt. About six months later, a new and very different kind of wolf had emerged. His name is Joel. Joel is different because he changed at the age of twenty-one, and not when he was a teenager. He was late because Jacob's dad's younger brother had been his father. Joel had never met his father, seeing as he died before he even knew the girl was pregnant. Joel had grown up not knowing any of his father's family, and none of his father's family knowing about him. Now this is where it gets really weird. Leah Clearwater imprinted upon him at the same moment that Joel imprinted upon her. It was the first time that this had happened, but certainly not the last. Joel and Leah were now married with four kids; Nicholas Sam, Alexis Jane, Cole Andrew, and Paige Olivia. Sam and Emily were also married with four kids; Jennifer Rose, Brandon Michael, Allison Grace, and Ryan Joel. All of these births had happened at the same time. The wolf gene in these kids was funny that way.

But that's just the beginning. There was also another new wolf in La Push. Her name was Brooke. She was Jared's little sister, and had changed when she was sixteen. She and Embry had imprinted upon each other, in the same way that Leah and Joel had. Brooke had given birth to twins seven years ago. Brooke and Embry had named their babies Madison Grace and Marcus John. Rachel and Paul had a son named Joshua Kyle, and their older daughter was named Kristen Skye. Kim and Jared had a daughter named Kelsey Renee, and their older son was named David Tyler.

Seth Clearwater had imprinted on a girl named Abbey eight years ago. They were now happily married with twins whose names were Elizabeth Grace and Evan Mitchell. A few months after Brooke had changed, twin girls named Lauren and Kaylie had also changed into wolves. Collin and Brady, the ones who used to be the 'kids' of the pack, had imprinted on these girls. And you guessed it, at the same time that they imprinted on them. Collin and Kaylie had a little girl named Anna Nicole, and Lauren and Brady had a little boy named Tyler Jonathon. Lauren and Kaylie also have a younger brother who is officially the newest member of the wolf pack, and whose name is Bryce.

Now here's where things start to get complicated. Jacob and Nessie had married about four years ago, and they now had a daughter named Eila and a son named Cade. They were both so adorable. We all loved them to death. Bryce, the newest wolf, had imprinted on Eila. Bryce was Lauren and Kaylie's younger brother. Jacob called in karma, but I knew it must be a little awkward to have Bryce imprint on his daughter.

If this wasn't enough, there was still more to come. Just a few months after the Cullens left Forks; the wolf world in La Push had been shaken up and almost destroyed. One night, Sam had found something mysterious in the woods. It had been a pair of bare human footprints just suddenly disappearing. Sam hadn't recognized the scent of these footprints, and had immediately called the rest of the wolves. They were gone for several hours, and Nessie eventually got worried and called Julia. You see, she has the talent of being able to find people. They work sort of like Alice's visions, only she can see all types of people, including werewolves. Julia had searched for the wolves, and had found them.

What she saw was horrendous. They had all been viciously attacked, and were left broken, bruised, and bleeding. I had been worried about Quil all night. I cried myself to sleep that night at Sam and Emily's. We hadn't known much then, but in the months that had followed that, we soon discovered more about these disappearing footprints. You see, the things that had attacked the wolves had been large, super natural eagles. This was all that the wolves had been able to capture about these things while they had been being attacked. But with this bit of information, we had set to work.

It had taken several weeks and almost nonstop work to finally reach a conclusion about these things, but the Cullens had found a legend concerning people that turned into eagles. The Achomawi Indians of Southern Oregon were the only culture that we could find that had a legend remotely relating to humans shape-shifting.

After a series of certain events, the leader of these eagles had come into our presence. He had explained to us about how he had been excluded from his family, and practically exiled from his community. The only reservation for Achomawi Indians was called Alturas, and was located near the Oregon state border in Northeastern California. Their leader's name was Dan, and he had told all the wolves about how he had ordered the others to attack out of pure fear, and intimidation; I had been inside with all of the wolves' kids. He was afraid of the wolves. He had apologized, and begged for their forgiveness.

Being the people that they were, not only had the wolves forgiven the eagles almost immediately, they had asked Dan to tell them about the rest of the eagles. Dan explained to them about how some of the eagles were very close to losing themselves. When you stayed eagles for as long as they did, he told us, it was sometimes hard to remember that somewhere inside of you was a real person. He told the wolves that there were about eight girls, and ten guys. After about an hour of talking with Dan, Sam had asked him to bring the rest of the eagles back to meet them. Sam had known that these people had nowhere to go, and Sam wasn't the type of guy who just let someone who needed help walk away.

After much arguing, Dan had agreed to bring the others back. Dan was feeling pretty guilty about his conscience at that time, and I had known that he must feel very undeserving of this act of generosity. No matter what he felt though, about an hour later, there were eighteen young men and woman standing in front of us.

That's when all hell broke loose. The weirdest of the weird things had happened. Caleb, Jeremy, Matt, Lucas, Nathan, Kyle, and Wyatt had imprinted on Mikayla, Natalie, Jocelyn, Amber, Kaitlyn, Nicole, and Ashley, the eagle girls. _I_ almost couldn't believe it. But that wasn't the end of all of the craziness. The very next day, the oldest eagle girl, Lyssie, had imprinted on a brand new eagle named Michael. Michael was much like Joel in his genes at least, seeing as he was Dan's younger cousin. Just like Joel was Jacob's older cousin.

Also, some of the wolves and eagles who had imprinted on each other had had children about three years ago. Caleb and Mikayla had a son named Derek James. Jeremy and Natalie had a beautiful daughter named Alaina May. Matt and Jocelyn had a son named Christopher Phillip, and Lucas and Amber had a daughter named Miley Anne. Lyssie and Michael also had twins named Jon Kevin and Jayde Christine. The youngest of the wolf/eagle imprints had been married about a year ago.

So all together, the eagles were Dan, Adam, Ricky, Landon, Scott, Alex, Brian, Robert, Corey, Justin, Michael, Lyssie, Mikayla, Natalie, Jocelyn, Amber, Kaitlyn, Nicole, and Ashley.

At lunch, I sat at a table with a group of kids that I had gone to school with my whole life. We had been through two-wheelers, braces, and dating together. My experiences with these things were a little different than theirs had been though. Quil had always been there. Quil_ would_ always be there.

The rest of the school day went by fast and I headed out to the parking lot with the rest of the school kids. Since La Push was so small, no students were allowed to drive to school. So, I trudged home through the rain with the rest of the students. Some walked in packs, others stayed with their families. Neighbors talked, but I walked alone today. My hood was up, hiding from the rain. Since it was the last week of school for the seniors, I had no homework. I had been exempt from finals due to my good grades and attendance record.

I decided to try and find Quil. Lately, Quil had been hanging out with Jacob more, like they had when they were teenagers. I headed towards Nessie and Jacob's house, hoping to find him there.

"Hey, Claire," Nessie greeted me as she opened the door.

"Hi Ness. Is Quil here?"

"He and Jake are actually running patrol right now, but you're welcome to come in. Cade is napping right now, and Eila should be home soon."

All of the packs school aged children usually walked home together. The parents had it arranged that one or two of them would be there every day, to make sure everything went over smoothly and no one got lost on their walk home. Jenny and Nick were in seventh grade; Brandon, Alexis, Kristin, and David were in fifth; Allison, Joshua, Kelsey, Madison, Marcus, and Cole were in third; Ryan and Paige were in first; Elizabeth, Evan, Anna and Tyler, born just after the cutoff date were in kindergarten; Cade was in his second year of pre-school; and Derek, Alaina, Christopher, Miley, Jon, and Jayde were all in their first year of preschool.

Eila, though truly younger than both Ryan and Paige, was actually a year ahead of them in school. Eila began school just a few months after her second birthday, as did Cade. They entered their first years of preschool with kids who were a year older than them, but most definitely not smarter. Nessie had been allowed to start them only with special permission from the school. It helped that the principle of the school was Lauren and Kaylie's mom, and after a short meeting with the school board and a series of questions asked of Eila and Cade, they had accepted them without a problem. Eila's and Cade's rapid aging had slowed down drastically after their third birthdays, and now Eila's aging was at a normal pace. Cade's was still a bit above average, but it wouldn't be for much longer. Their learning though was noticeably faster, and I knew that Nessie and Jacob had had to explain to them why they had to pretend to learn a little more slowly than they actually were. Just like all of the pack children, Eila and Cade knew the secret, and knew the importance of keeping that secret. Just like I had all my life.

"So, how have you been?" I asked Nessie.

"Oh, you know; same old, same old. Jake's still not sleeping enough. He's always taking this Alpha thing so seriously."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"No, not at all," She said. "It's just hard sometimes. I know what he has to do, and he knows what he has to do, I just don't like having to see him do it. It exhausts him, you know?"

I nodded thoughtfully. I wondered what it would be like to have kids, not that I was planning on that any time soon, but still I wondered…what if Quil had been Alpha? What would that have meant for me? How often would he have been gone? How often would I have gotten to see him?

"What's it like?" I asked.

"What?" Ness asked; she looked like she needed as much sleep as Jacob.

"Jake being Alpha. Is it hard on you?"

She looked at me thoughtfully before speaking.

"Sometimes; there are things he misses out on with the kids and I know he really regrets that, but I'm sure it's the same for Sam. Neither one of them can be in two places at once, but that's the choice you make when you become Alpha, I guess." She sighed. "The only problem with that, Jacob was seventeen when he became Alpha. Sam was eighteen." She shook her head. "They couldn't've known this was what their lives would be like back then."

"They were my age," I commented.

Nessie nodded. "I know."

Eila was getting home about that time. She knew that it was her brother's naptime, so she was quiet. Nessie waved to Emily as she opened the door, and Emily waved back, shuffling the herd of kids toward Jared and Rachel's house. Jacob and Quil walked in at that time as well. They were quiet too. Quil smiled at me, and I grinned back.

Eila came back to see her daddy, and she jumped into his arms. "Hi," he said quietly.

"Hi," she said back.

"Did you have a good day at school?"

"Yes," she said. "I won the race we had at recess."

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "By how much?"

"Not much," she said. "I didn't want them to think I was different."

Jacob kissed her head. "I don't want you to have to pretend sweetheart. You know that, don't you?"

"I know," she said. "But we do what we gotta do." I'd heard Nessie say this phrase so many times, it was absolutely adorable to hear Eila say it. "And sometimes, it's fun."

Jacob laughed. "Okay," he said. He sat her down. Nessie was mixing something in a bottle at the kitchen counter. I had been over here enough to not be bothered by the sight of blood, but I wondered what it was.

"Hey," Jacob said to her.

"Hi," she said.

"How was work?"

Nessie only worked mornings on Mondays. She taught music at the school. Every other day of the week, she worked all day. She was frequently the parent who brought everyone home. "Alright," she said. "We have a concert this week."

"I heard about that," Jacob said.

"Oh you did, did you?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes," he said. "From someone I know. She told me about it last night."

Nessie slapped at him with her hand. "I'm just nervous about it," she said.

"Aw, don't worry," I said. I played saxophone for the high school band. "We'll be ready."

It was strange for me at school sometimes to call Nessie Mrs. Black. I had known her for her whole life. It was weird when she got her teaching degree and came back to teach us. I saw her so much outside of school, Nessie was more like my friend. Though when it came to school, she was first and foremost my teacher.

Nessie turned to me. "Believe it or not Claire, having my first chair saxophone tell me not to worry makes me worry more."

I laughed. "Hey," I said. "I'm working on Chelsea. She's not that bad." Chelsea was the other saxophone player, and she had had trouble with it from the very beginning.

Nessie raised her eyebrows. "As a teacher, I would have to agree with you. As a fellow musician, she sucks."

I laughed. "You're right," I said. "There's no denying it."

Nessie finished whatever she had been mixing and poured it into a cup. She handed it to Eila. "Drink up," she said.

Eila came and sat at the kitchen table.

"What are you drinking?" I asked her, hoping I wouldn't regret the question.

"Rabbit blood," she said.

"There's a calcium supplement mixed in," Nessie explained. "Carlisle and I agreed it would be a good idea for both of our kids."

Jacob came out holding Cade at that moment. Cade was still bleary eyed and sweet from his nap, but his resemblance to Jacob always astounded me.

"Hey buddy," Nessie said. She looked like she was mixing something similar for Cade.

"Hi," he said. He laid his head on Jacob's shoulder and smiled at his mother.

Quil came in and sat next to me, squeezing my hand to say hello. He had been quiet lately, and I planned on asking him why later.

"Hi," I said.

"Hey," he said back. His eyes were dancing, just like they always were when he was around me.

"Did you have a good run?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am," he told me. "How was school?"

"Lovely," I told him. He knew how bored I got at school, so the question had been a joke between us for the past several years. I smiled. "I have some news," I said. I was speaking to everyone in the room, but looking at Quil.

"Shoot," Quil said.

I took in a deep breath. "Today I was announced over the intercom as valedictorian."

"For real?" Quil said.

"For real," I answered. We knew that my name was among the top five in my class, but they hadn't told us anymore than that until today. I was really proud.

"That's awesome!" Quil said. He gave me a hug.

"I was so excited when I found out," Nessie said. "They told us last Thursday."

I laughed. "I feel like all the work was worth it."

"It was," Nessie said. "No wonder you got that scholarship."

A few months ago, I had been accepted at Peninsula College in Port Angeles. A few weeks later, I had gotten a phone call from the admissions office there. I had been given a very good scholarship for agreeing to play my saxophone in their band, and I had been offered another chunk of change for my grades. The lady at the admissions office said that she was happy to tell me that with both scholarships and being able to live at home, I would be paying nothing to attend the college. The college was only a two-year college, but that was enough for me. I had been planning on attending Peninsula College even without the scholarship, and then finishing up my degree in Sports Medicine at a school about two hours away from La Push. After four years of college, I would still have to do a lot of on-the-job training, but I was hoping to be able to set that up at the Forks High School. Their current athletic trainer was getting up there in years, and would be retiring right around the time that I would be a fully certified trainer. Whatever happened though, I would have to stay close to La Push. Quil had to be in La Push, and I had to be with Quil, and that was all that mattered.

Eila finished her drink then, and Nessie and Jacob went with their kids into the living room. Quil and I were left alone in the kitchen.

"Well," he said. He put his hand on my head and kissed me slowly. "I sure am proud of you."

I smiled at him, breathless. "You know," I said. "You didn't have to stop."

He laughed. "I think I did."

"Why?" I hadn't really ever questioned Quil about anything. It kind of took me by surprise when I asked why, even before I spoke, the thought surprised me.

He just looked at me sadly and said nothing. I didn't know why he had been so quiet around me lately.

"Hey, Quil?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"Let's go outside for a little while."

I'm sure he knew exactly why I wanted to be alone with him.

"Sure," he said. "Come on let's go." He took my hand and we told Ness and Jake that we would be back later. Once outside, we didn't go very deep into the forest before we sat down on the ground.

Quil was still quiet.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. "You seem upset."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you've been so quiet lately… I just want to know why."

He sighed but said nothing as he put his arm around me. I wondered what he was thinking. I didn't know why he wouldn't talk to me. This never happened. He was looking off into the distance as if he was deep in thought.

"Please answer me."

After a few more minutes of silence he finally spoke.

"Ok, the truth?" he asked turning to look at me. I nodded.

"Here's the thing. I've been thinking a lot these past few months and I miss what life used to be like for us. I miss those carefree days that we used to have. I'm not ready for you to grow up yet. I'm not ready for you to graduate. I'm scared for what life will be like for us in the future." He sighed. "Claire… life is all the stuff that comes after high school, and life is hard. Life is going to college and getting married and having kids and I'm scared of that. I'm scared of living in the real world. I'm scared of what we're going to be like."

"Quil, it's okay, I…"

"I'm not done yet. Claire you are the best thing that ever happened to me and I…" He didn't seem to know what else to say.

"Quil," I said a few minutes later. "I know exactly what you're saying and I'm scared too. But we knew this would happen eventually."

"Yeah…I know…I just…I miss the little girl that you used to be." He sighed and looked away from me.

"I'm still that same little girl Quil. I won't ever change. I'll always need you in my life; and Quil?"

His gaze shifted towards me again.

"I'll always love you." He stared at me, shocked, but said nothing.

I had wanted to tell him this for a while now and I wasn't sure if now was the right time, but before I could stop myself the words were out of my mouth. I knew it was true though. Sitting here with his arm around me and my heart racing at his touch, I knew that I loved him. I always had and always would. We were both quiet for a little while, and then he spoke suddenly.

"Come on; let's head back to Jake and Ness's." I didn't say anything, but took his hand and we headed back to their house.

Despite Nessie's worries our band concert went really well. I could tell she was impressed by the progress that we had made throughout the year. The rest of the week flew by and before I knew it, I was standing on stage in front of my class giving my valedictorian speech.

"These past few years are some of the most memorable years that I have had. I won't ever forget a single moment of my time here. Friends may come and go, but I know that every moment here counted for something great. It was definitely worth the wait. I would like to thank all of the teachers here who have helped make this year and all the other ones so special. I would also like to thank my family for showing me what it means to be brave and to take every moment in life as a challenge or a new beginning." I saw Quil's face light up as I spoke. "So again, thank you to everyone, and I'd just like to say one more thing, congratulations to all of you!" Everyone applauded for me as I walked off stage and I saw Quil wink at me and I giggled.

Soon I was in line with the rest of my class. All of the wolves, the eagles, and their families were there. My eyes were fixed on Quil's and he smiled at me. As the principle called my name, I walked onstage, holding myself up very confidently. There was a huge applause in the audience from my family as my diploma was handed to me. I turned the tassel on my graduation cap and knew that this was the start of a new chapter in my life. It would be a time for new challenges, some I may not be ready to face, but with the strong will and determination I had, I knew that I was ready.

After graduation, I went out to dinner with my parents. Quil went home for this one; it was high time I spent some quality time with my parents. When we got home, I changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top, wearing a light sweater over the top of it. It was tribal custom for the graduating class of La Push High School to spend the night on the beach, celebrating our freedom and hanging out for one last night. No one ever slept much, but it was a good time for us.

At around two-thirty in the morning, the darkest, coldest time of the night, I was huddled around a fire with my seven classmates. The weather wasn't terrible, and I was warm while sitting amongst my friends. Of these seven kids, only two of us were girls. We had all been going to school together for thirteen years now, so this moment was pretty bitter sweet. We spoke mostly in Quileute, but we still didn't know how to say some things.

"So," one of the boys said. "This is it. This is what we've been anticipating since we were about eight." He looked around. "It's much quieter than I thought it would be."

I laughed, and the sound mixed with the crashing waves. "It's kind of nice."

"Yeah," Another of the boys said. "Kind of."

In the silence that followed, I heard a loud wolf howl go up from somewhere to our left. A few seconds later, a similar, yet slightly different sounding howl was heard from the same direction. The girl sitting next to me shivered. "That was weird," she said.

"Yeah," I said, just then hearing the anticipated eagle caw from somewhere in the trees. "Kind of creepy."

The subject passed, and I was thankful. Even after all these years, I wasn't very good at lying. It was just one of those talents that I did not possess. I tried not to worry about why all the wolves and eagles were being called together, but the feeling lodged in the back of my head like a poisonous bullet. The rest of my classmates kept right on talking about other things, with hardly a care in the world. None of them had ever fallen in love, at least not like I had. None of them had ever woken up in the middle of the night because they could just tell something was wrong. None of them had ever had to see someone they loved broken and bleeding. None of them had ever seen someone smile at the sound of your voice in their sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

After the sun rose the next morning, we all cleaned up our stuff, doused our fire, and went in our separate directions. I made my way toward my house, noting that Quil would still be out running patrol. I got home, waved good morning to my parents, and fell into bed.

Roughly eight hours later, I was woken up by a gentle nudging on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and rolled over to see Quil staring at me.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Well hello there," I said. I looked around my room, and then turned back to Quil. "Is there any particular reason that you're in my bed right now?"

He smiled. "You're mom told me to come get you up. It's two o'clock in the afternoon."

I sat up and pushed my messy hair out of my face. "Mm…" I said. I looked at him. "Did you get some sleep?"

"A few hours," he told me. "I got in around seven."

A memory from the night before came back to me suddenly. "I heard the howls last night. What was that about?"

Quil chuckled. "Oh you know, just a timed trial in the middle of the night." A timed trial was basically whenever one pack or all of the wolves and eagles were called to one meeting place by their alpha. It was a security thing. If someone got in trouble, you needed to know that someone would be there to help you pretty quickly. He laughed again. "It was totally unplanned. At some point last night Jacob realized that the only other people out were Sam and Daniel. So, they decided to have a timed trial." He smiled widely. "It took us forever. Poor old Charlie and Sue could barely keep up with all of the sleeping kids being dropped off at their door." Charlie Swan and Sue Clearwater had gotten married a few years back, and were now one of the drop off points for the pack kids who were too young to stay home by themselves. I was usually one as well, seeing as I lived the closest to Caleb and Mikayla, Lyssie and Michael, and Jeremy and Natalie. I had been woken up in the middle of the night only one other time in all my years of living in La Push. That had been during another one of their ridiculous, middle-of-the-night, timed trials.

I laughed. "Sorry I missed it," I said. "Sounds like it would have been fun to watch."

"It was hilarious," Quil said. "You should have seen us all sprinting into the middle of the woods, wearing our pajamas."

After the last timed trial, everyone had agreed to start meeting in human form. It was too difficult to communicate with the eagles not being able to hear the wolves' thoughts and vice versa. If a real emergency were ever to occur, like it had on numerous accounts before, the wolves and eagles were expected to keep their eyes and ears open and assess the situation. If it sounded or looked like an emergency, everyone was supposed to phase and handle the problem. If not, then they were to just run as fast as they possibly could to the point where the alpha's were, and wait for everyone to get there.

I laughed again. "Was everyone annoyed?"

"A little," Quil said. "But they understand. We've all been in situations where we need help, and it's good to know how fast help can be there."

I nodded, and stretched. "Well then," I said. "I should probably get up and get dressed at least."

"Yep," Quil said, getting off my bed. "By the way, there's going to be a bonfire tonight. Everyone's invited of course. That's why I woke you up."

"Alright," I said. "Where at?"

"Cliff top," he said. That was a familiar place we had bonfires. They were relatively common amongst our family in the summer months.

"Kay," I said. "I'm in."

He laughed as he shut my door behind him.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a bright pink sweatshirt. I was entirely too lazy to do anything other than pull my hair into a ponytail, but I found a headband to hold back the fly-aways with. I looked at my make up from the night before, and decided that it was probably better to just wipe it all off. I finished getting ready, made my bed out of habit, and went out into the living room to see Quil sitting there with my parents. They stopped talking as soon as I walked in.

"Um…" I said. "Okay?"

"Pretty much," Quil said.

I shook my head. It didn't matter that much. "You want to go over there now or later?" I asked.

"Now is fine," Quil said. He stood up quickly.

So did my mom. She came over and gave me a hug. "Have a good time tonight," she said. She kissed my head.

"Okay," I said. "I will." I kissed my dad on the cheek on my way out, and followed Quil to his car.

Even this early, we weren't the first people to arrive at the cliff top. The eagle guys were all already there, throwing a Frisbee around. Quil and I said hello, and then we started to build the fire. Everyone who had something would bring a burn pile, but we sent the younger eagle boys off to look for sticks.

As the fire got higher, so did the amount of people there. This place was almost too small for us now that there were so many kids. I was immediately greeted by the three-year-olds as they came in with their multi-species parents. I laughed at the way they talked to each other.

The bonfire burned later and later, and when it came time for the stories, everyone younger than third grade was sound asleep. I listened carefully to the stories, watching the reactions the younger kids had to these not-so-make-believe stories. They were very serious for only being eight, and I realized how real these stories must seem to them. They were real to me.

The silence that always followed the stories never ceased to amaze me. Right about the time that it was starting to get awkward and someone was bound to say something, Quil stood up from where he was sitting by me. I turned to look at him and see was he was doing.

The next three seconds of my life went by in slow motion.

Quil reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small white box. He dropped down on one knee.

"Claire," he said.

By this point my mouth was hanging on the ground.

"I know it's taken me forever…. But will you please, please, _please_ do me the honor of marrying me?"

My breath was stuck in my throat, and black spots were starting to pop in front of my eyes. I saw every single moment I'd ever spent with Quil flashing before my eyes. I saw him carrying me on his shoulders when I was a toddler. I saw him holding my hand while we waited for someone to come stitch him up, when the eagles had first attacked the wolves. I saw him giving me a standing ovation as I took my High School diploma from the hands of the superintendent.

I saw him standing at the end of an aisle, dressed in a black tux, waiting to marry me.

I gasped and blinked, and saw the smile in his eyes.

"Yes!" I said "Yes, yes, yes a thousand times yes!"

I jumped up and he swung me around in his arms. Everyone was clapping, but I was buried in Quil's shoulder, crying tears that were so happy they could've brought world peace. I hadn't seen this coming in a million years, but I guess I should have. Quil and I had never talked about marriage because it was something so definite for us that it didn't need to be discussed. We both knew that we would be married one day. I just hadn't realized how quickly that was coming.

Happy didn't cover all of the positive emotions jumping over each other in my body. I felt so elated that I could've screamed.

The weeks leading up to the wedding flew by for me. The dress that I found was beautiful! I went shopping in Port Angeles with my mother. I tried on many different types of dresses until I found one that was sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline. As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one. This dressed hugged me in all the right places and fit like a glove. It was very simple, yet elegant at the same time.

The day of my wedding, Emily dropped Jenny off at my house. I had asked her to be my maid of honor. She was young, but she is one of the strongest girls I know. A few years ago, when we had first come into contact with the eagles, and the wolves were attacked, Jenny stayed strong even though she was so scared. She always made sure that her younger siblings were safe if her parents weren't around. She is one of the bravest girls I know. She was going to be in eighth grade this year. I wouldn't let her see my dress until the day of the wedding. I knew she was excited. I was in my room with my mom getting ready when there was a knock on the door. My father let Jenny inside and she headed into my room where my mom was fixing my hair.

"Hey Claire!" she greeted me with a smile. "You're getting married today!"

"I know! I can't believe it! I've known Quil for so long. Today is going to be perfect."

"Yes it will be! So can I see your dress now? I laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Yeah, it's hanging up in my closet."

She opened my closet door and gasped.

"Oh, gosh, Claire; this is beautiful!"

My mom was just finishing my hair and make-up. My hair was curled and a few pieces were pulled back and held together with a silver clip that belonged to my grandmother. She passed it down to my mother and now it was being passed down to me.

My mom and Jenny left the room so that I could change. Mom came back in to lace the back of it up and tied it at my waist. She placed the veil on my head and I turned to the mirror.

"Oh wow! That dress is gorgeous on you!" Jenny said to me.

I blushed and smiled at her. "Thank you! You look really nice too. I absolutely love that dress on you." She just smiled in response. I let Jenny pick out her own dress. She looked stunning in her light purple dress. The design of it was similar to mine, but instead of being sleeveless, this dress was one-shouldered with no beading.

"Are you ready to go?" my mom asked, smiling at me.

I just nodded. My throat was starting to swell and I was afraid that I would start crying. I blinked away the tears and took my mother's hand, squeezing it tightly.

Quil and I were getting married on the beach. The venue of our wedding would be similar to Nessie's and Jakes. We both liked the setting though. It had a lot of meaning to both of us because that's where we spent most of our time when I was younger. I was just a baby when Quil had first imprinted on me. Although, at the time, I didn't really understand. He's always been my best friend and will always be.

When we got to the beach, all of the wolves, the eagles and their families were there. My mother gave me a kiss and smiled at me. When I looked into her eyes, I saw the tears that she was doing her best to hide.

"Now, don't you start crying, Mom, or I will too."

"It's your wedding day, I'm supposed to cry."

I just laughed and hugged her once more and she went to go sit down with my grandmother. My dad took my arm and I held on tight. Nessie was playing the music for the ceremony and once she started, Jenny walked slowly down the aisle with Embry, Quil's best man.

"I love you, Dad," I whispered to him, just as the wedding march began. He kissed me gently and we started down the aisle.

My eyes were fixed on Quil the entire time. He was smiling that same smile that I had always loved. I loved Quil and nothing was ever going to change that. Soon I was right next to him. I handed Jenny my bouquet and the ceremony began.

We had decided to be untraditional and write our own vows. Everything about our life together has always been untraditional. When it came time to say our vows, I went first.

"Quil, ever since that first day you laid eyes on me, I was never the same. You have always been such an important part of me. And I will always love you." It was short and sweet, but I did see a tear glistening in his eye.

"Claire, there are no words to describe how you make me feel. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I've waited for such a long time for this moment right now." He stopped for a minute and took a breath, trying to hide is tears I'm sure. "I love you."

I wasn't even trying to hide my tears now. I knew he loved me. He always had and always would. We placed our wedding rings on each other's fingers, said I do, and soon we were being announced, "Mr. and Mrs. Quil Attera."

There was a huge round of applause from our family and friends as we walked down the aisle together. We were greeted from all sides by them. I held on tight to Quil's hand and we were greeted from all sides by friends and family. When my mom came to hug me, she had tears in her eyes. I'm sure she was crying the whole time.

"Take care of my little girl, Quil."

"I will, don't worry. She'll always be safe with me." That was a promise that he'd been keeping for a very long time.

I squeezed his hand and we headed to his car. We were going to have the reception at my house. It would be a tight squeeze. All of the houses on the reservation were small though.

We waited until everyone was there to get out of the car and again we were greeted with another round of applause as we entered the backyard. The reception was just as nice as the wedding. We danced, we ate, and we danced some more. We shoved cake in each other's faces and as it got later, I left to change into jeans and a blue beaded camisole with a three quarter length black sweater and a pair of silver flats. Quil met me downstairs. He had changed into jeans and a navy blue t-shirt. He took my hand and we were pelted with rice as we headed out to his car, hand in hand.

We slammed our doors behind us and Quil turned the car on. Leah and Emily had decorated the car with 'newlyweds' signs and tin cans, and I turned to wave as we drove off. My mom was crying, but waving anyways. I saw all of my friends and family, and realized how different things were going to be now. The next time I was in La Push, I would be living with Quil, not my parents. High School seemed like a distant memory now, but seeing my classmates disappear behind me reminded me of how recently I had been sitting in a classroom with them. I saw Emily, Rachel, Kim, Nessie, and Abbey, and for the first time, I saw myself as their equals. I wasn't a little girl anymore. I was married. I was an imprint.

Our honeymoon was going to be epic. We were going to an adventure resort in California. We were going to go rock climbing, zip lining, hiking, kayaking, white-water rafting, and dirt biking. I had been hiking my whole life, and I had been rock-climbing a few times, but I had never done any of the other things. I wasn't scared though. I loved doing things that were considered semi-dangerous. The adrenaline was worth it.

We drove all night, and got to the resort in just under nine hours. I had slept most of the way, but had switched with Quil at a rest stop around two in the morning. We got to the resort around five am, right when the sky was starting to lighten up a bit. There was an overnight receptionist there, and she directed us to our cabin. The resort was really just a big camp site. Our cabin was one of the very last, on the outer edge of the lodging area. We rented an ATV for the weekend that we were going to be there, which was recommended by the staff. We loaded our three suitcases onto the back of the ATV, and drove off to find our cabin. I was excited.

Quil opened the door to the cabin and I started to walk inside. Quil threw his arm out to stop me.

"Thresh hold," he said.

I looked him up and down. "_Really_?" I asked.

"For sure," he said. He scooped me up before I could protest.

The cabin was beautiful. It was smallest size they had, but bigger than the house we would be living in at home. As we walked in, the living room was to our right, and the kitchen to our left. The back part of the house opened up into a screened in back porch with some outdoor furniture and a fan for when the weather was warm. We walked down the hallway together and looked first in the dainty bathroom, and finally, at the bedroom.

We didn't say much, we were both pretty tired. Quil brought in our suitcases and I started unpacking them. It didn't take us long, and when we were finished, we were both ready for a few hours of sleep. I pulled out my newly unpacked pajamas, and moved to the left side of the bed. I didn't hesitate when I pulled off my clothes and put on my pajamas. Neither did Quil. We were pretending like this was the most natural thing in the whole world, like we did this every day, but really, I was so nervous that I was shaking. Quil reached for the light switch, and we both climbed into bed.

I slid into his arms, and he kissed my forehead.

"This place is beautiful," I whispered.

"Yes," he said. "You are." He kissed my lips then. "I've waited for this for a long time," he said, rocking me a little bit.

"I know," I told him. "I'm glad you didn't wait any longer to ask me."

He brushed my hair with his hand, and I could see his dark eyes in the dim light. "I love you," I told him.

He kissed me again. "I love you too," he said. And then we ventured into deeper water.

I woke up the next morning cocooned in a sea of warmth. Quil's hand stroked my back gently and repetitively, and I woke up slowly. I felt my body moving up and down with each breath he took, and I opened my eyes. Bright sunlight streamed in the windows, and I assumed it was sometime in the late morning. I lifted my head slowly to look at Quil.

He smiled at me with sleepy eyes. "Good morning Claire," he said.

I grinned at him. "Good morning." I gave him a peck on the lips and rolled off of him. We lay cuddled in the blankets for a few moments, and the amount of happiness that filled me was indescribable.

"So," he said, his voice as warm as his body. "That was something."

I laughed. "Yeah," I said. "Definitely."

I stretched, sitting up slowly. "We should get going," I told him.

He sat up too, shaking his head to clear away the remnants of sleep. "Alright," he said. He climbed out of bed and walked over to the dresser where we had put our schedule of events. "Today we have kayaking and rock climbing."

I climbed out of bed. "I'm so excited!" I said.

He laughed. "Me too." He came over to me and pulled me close to him. "You are the best thing that's ever happened to me," he said.

I kissed him for the second time that morning. "I must concur," I said.

He laughed, and we broke apart to get ready for the day. I went to go take a shower, and Quil wandered over to the dresser to find some clothes.

Around one o'clock we left our cabin to go meet up with our instructors and group. The resort placed you in a group of six people, seeing as all of their activities were made for groups of six. Quil and I already knew that we were in a group with two other newlywed couples, but we had no idea who they were or what they were like.

Quil skidded to a stop next to the other mud-covered ATV's, and we climbed off. We had gotten there just as everyone else was, and a round of introductions ensued. Our instructors walked out of the small boat house we had been told to meet at.

"Hi," The man said. "I'm Jeff. This is Haylie." He jerked his thumb toward the girl he was walking with. "We are going to be your instructors for the weekend."

"You guys ready to get started?" Haylie asked.

"For sure," I said. I was by far the youngest there, and Quil and I got several strange looks from the other couple in our group.

"Okay," Jeff said. "So, today we are going to be kayaking in relatively calm water. There shouldn't be any reason for anyone to flip over, but Haylie and I will be there the whole time in case of an emergency."

The next half hour was spent with getting into life jackets and helmets, while they gave us some safety instructions and answered any questions we had.

The kayaking was everything I had hoped it would be. The current was fast but smooth, and Quil and I had a blast. We both got soaking wet, but we didn't care. The view was beautiful. The resort was very natural, and everything we passed looked like it had been around for hundreds of years. "So," Quil said once we were a little bit away from the other relatively timid members of our group. "Are you happy Claire?"

I gave him a look. "No Quil," I said. "I'm miserable." I hit him with my paddle. "Of course I'm happy!" I said. "Why do you ask?"

He smiled. "Because that's all I want," he said.

I shook my head. "You're silly," I told him.

"Usually," he agreed.

The rock climbing was hysterical that night. Quil and I reached the top of the wall with ease, and our instructors swiftly moved us to a more challenging wall. Quil obviously had no trouble with this wall either, but I couldn't reach most of the pegs. At one point Quil literally grabbed me by the harness and lifted me to the next peg. I couldn't remember ever laughing harder in my life. It was great.

Our long weekend was spectacular. We nearly killed ourselves having fun during the day, and we got to spend some…quality time… together at night.

Yet, like all good things, our honeymoon eventually had to come to an end. On Tuesday morning, Quil and I packed up our bags and checked out of the resort. We took our sweet time driving home. We stopped at several landmarks, bought a good lunch, and got back to La Push late that night. Quil and I were exhausted, but we brought our suitcases into our small house. I had moved my stuff in with Quil a couple of days before the wedding, so our house was all set up. The house was really only designed for one person, but we would manage.

The next morning, I woke up before Quil for once. I laid there for a while, watching him sleep. Eventually his eyelids started to flicker, and he woke up very quickly. Years of being called out in the middle of the night had him trained to be fully awake in a second. "Hello there Mr. Atera," I said.

"Hi," he said. He smiled. "You're pretty."

I shook my bed head out. "Gee thanks," I said. I stretched my arms out over my head. "So," I said. "Now what?"

He laughed. "Well," he said. "We go back to the real world."

I laughed then too. "Awesome," I said. "You have patrol today?"

"And early tomorrow morning," he said. "Twelve to five, and then one o'clock to four." The overnight shifts were shorter than the day ones so that everyone could get better sleep.

"Oh," I said. "That's rough."

"It's my welcome home present. Plus, I'm running the morning shift with Bryce." He shook his head. "He's really grown up, but he's definitely still the youngest." He was quite for a moment. "He's the only one that's not married now," he said. He smiled at me.

I nodded my head thoughtfully. "Is it really awkward, being inside each other's heads all the time?" I asked.

"Pretty much," he said. "It's not as bad as it used to be, but we definitely have our moments." He laughed. "People think about some strange things."

I smiled. "I'll bet." I pulled the covers back and got out of bed. "I'm going to get ready and then eat something. I've got work at eleven, and I'm playing a gig tonight in Forks." In the weeks between graduation and the wedding, I had been asked by a member of Fork's fire department if I would be willing to play my saxophone for a small event they were having. I had agreed, and had played my heart and soul out for half of the population of Forks. The fire department paid me pretty well, and the tips were great. Since then, I had received calls from several other organizations in Forks, La Push, and the surrounding communities, and I raked in a decent amount of money to get Quil and I started with. I also worked at the general store by the beach in La Push, and all of that money was now going toward keeping Quil and I afloat. In the years that I was growing up, Quil had attended community college and was trained as a 911 dispatcher. He was one of the five that worked for the Forks/La Push area, and that was our main source of income right now.

"Awesome," Quil said. He smiled. "Did I ever tell you how glad I am that you got that scholarship?"

I laughed a little nervously. "No," I said. I was quiet then. "Money is going to be pretty tight though, either way."

He sighed. "I was thinking about that," he said. "I'll try to pick up some extra shifts," he said. He smiled. "We'll figure it out."

"Probably," I said.

An hour later, I was walking out the door into a classic La Push drizzle. The rain didn't bother me in the summer when it was warmer. Plus, by walking to work, Quil and I could save money on gas.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

Business was steady that day, and my seven hour shift went by without a hitch. When I got home, Quil had made dinner, and I had just enough time to scarf down the ravioli before I had to go get ready for the gig. Tonight, I was playing at the Forks High School for a fundraiser they were having. It was a dinner dance, and I was going to be playing through the dinner part of it. Only adults were allowed, and it was a semi-formal event. I was wearing a black dress that my mother had bought me for a funeral once, and that was still in good condition. I pulled some of my hair up, and left the other half down. I reapplied my makeup and put on the jewelry I had used at my wedding, wearing a pair of short heals on my feet. I grabbed my music and my saxophone, and raced out to the car, kissing Quil on my way out. He was going to get some sleep before his next round of patrol, so he wouldn't be there tonight. But, I knew that several of the older wolves would be there. They had all gone through the La Push school system, and they were all aware of the current financial state of the school.

I played all the way through dinner, and by the time I finished, my face felt like mush. I hadn't played at all on our honeymoon, and I was wiped out. Lauren, Brady, Collin, Kaylie, Sam, Emily, Jared, Kim, Paul, Rachel, Jacob, Nessie, Leah, Joel, Abbey, Seth, Brooke, and Embry were all there. Also, Lauren, Kaylie, and Bryce's parents were there, seeing as their mom was the principal. I finished off the song I was playing with a mess of runs and a final chord, and then I took my bow and left the stage to a round of applause.

Sometimes, there are moments in your life that you know you'll always remember. You'll remember who was there, and what sounds there were, and what you were doing when time stood still for this one moment.

From all the way across the room, I could tell that something was wrong. I watched as Kaylie, Lauren, and Bryce's father clutched his chest, and fell from his chair onto the floor. I was stunned. The people around him, including his wife, reacted immediately, but I just stood there. I stared as they called his name, and someone dialed 911. Everyone was crowding around him, and someone was trying to get them to give him some space.

Somewhere in my subconscious, I moved out of the way as the EMT's rushed in the door less than five minutes later and started doing chest compressions. I snapped back into reality as Emily grabbed my arm.

"Hey!" she said, only sounding slightly panicked. "Lauren and Kaylie are following the ambulance to the hospital. Sam and Jacob left to get everyone that's not already here."

"Okay," I said. "What should we do?"

She shook her head. "Collin told me to get everyone to the big white house." I could see the tears in her eyes now. "Things didn't look good."

I nodded, grabbing my bag and my saxophone case. "Do you think he wants the kids there?"

"Yeah," Emily said. "That's what he said. He said make sure everyone is together."

"Okay," I said. "I'll call over there and let them know what's going on and then I'll swing by Collin's parent's house to get the kids."

"Okay," she said. "That should be fine. I'm going to call the girls and tell them to head over there with their kids." She ran her hand over her eyes. "See you soon."

I was already dialing my phone and I ran out into the stormy night. I unlocked the car and climbed in, explaining to Landon what was going on as I backed out of the parking lot. He was kind of in shock, but he would tell all of the other eagle guys what was going on. I didn't really know what I was going to tell the kids, but I decided that I would cross that bridge when I came to it. I ran my hand through my hair, and pulled into Collin's parent's driveway.

I quickly explained what was going on, and then brought Tyler and Anna out to the car. I wasn't sure how close they were to their grandfather, but this was going to be a rough night either way.

The kids were quiet on the way to the big white house. I didn't know what to say to them, and they didn't know what to say to me. It was a torrential downpour by the time we got there, but I pulled the car right up to the garage and we ran in.

We weren't the last ones there, but we definitely were not the first. The house was very warm, with so many hot bodies inside.

"There's a movie in upstairs," Dan told me, and I directed the kids up there, assuring them that their cousins were there.

After that, it was nothing but a waiting game. After about an hour of just quiet talking or silence, Sam and Jacob came in.

"He's gone," Sam said.

Quil squeezed my hand, and I laid my head on his shoulder. Death was a part of living, but that didn't make it any easier to take in. I hadn't really known Kaylie, Lauren, and Bryce's father all that well, but I knew that they all had some rough days ahead of them. Quil had his arm around my shoulder, and he rubbed his hand up and down my arm. I was crying, but more out of sympathy than anything else. I felt for my family members, and I didn't want to see them go through this.

"Did Bryce get there?" Nessie asked from where she was sitting on the floor.

"Yes," Jacob said. "Barely, but yes."

"I'm glad," Natalie said. "That would have been awful…"

Jacob then came and sat down by Nessie on the floor. Sam stayed standing by Emily. "How are we going to tell the kids?" Sam asked.

"I think we need to wait for their parents to get here," Jocelyn said. "And I for one would prefer to tell them all at once."

"Agreed," Lyssie said.

I heard a door open upstairs, and little feet padding across the carpet. We all turned to look. Eila was standing at the top of the staircase.

"Daddy?" She said.

"Yeah E?" Jacob called back, standing up so she could see him.

"Bryce will be very sad, won't he?" She asked, and her little eyes filled with tears.

"Yeah, sweetie, he probably will."

The tears ran down her cheeks then. "Then I think I will be sad too," she told him.

"It's okay to be sad, Eila," he said. She nodded. "Could you hear us?" Jacob asked.

"Only because I was listening," she said, and her soprano voice was choked with tears.

"Was Cade?" he asked, questioning how much his superhuman children had heard.

"No," she said softly. "He is asleep." She wiped at her face. "Actually," she said. "Everyone is asleep, except for me, Jenny, and Nick." She shook her head, and her quiet sob made my heart break. "They don't know," she said. "They can't hear."

Jacob bounded up the stairs and wrapped his daughter in his arms. "Sh," he said, rocking her back and forth.

"It's hard being different," Eila said. "And I don't know if I like it very much."

"I know honey," Jacob said. He kissed her forehead, and wiped away her tears. "But hey," he said. "You know that you've always got me, right?"

Eila nodded her head, her little curls bouncing. "Okay," Jacob said a minute later. "How about you go back and wait with your cousins, and I'll come and get you when Bryce is ready."

"Okay," Eila said. She kissed her dad on the cheek, and walked back into Dan's room. Jacob watched her go.

He came down the stairs and threw his hands up. "Well," he said. "Eila knows."

"I'm gathering that," Caleb said.

Nessie sighed and put her head in her hands. "She's got a lot on her plate for such a little girl."

Jacob sat back down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. "Well," he said. "You turned out okay."

"Yeah," Nessie scoffed. "Alleluia to that."

"They're coming," Brian said suddenly, and I assumed he meant Lauren, Brady, Collin, Kaylie, and Bryce.

Soon enough, I could hear their car on the long winding drive, and I braced myself for the emotions that were about to enter the room.

Collin came in first, and his face was grim. He looked like he had been punched in the stomach, and Brady looked the same way. Lauren and Kaylie were both crying silently, and they looked like they were in shock. Then Bryce came in. Compared to the others, he looked like he had been hit by a train. He was filthy from running patrol, and his eyes were red and swollen. You could tell that he had pulled it together to face his family, but the raw emotion in his eyes was heart breaking.

They came in and shut the door behind them. People scooted over on couches, chairs, and the floor to make room for them, and they each took seats accordingly.

"I'm sorry you're all out so late with your kids," Lauren said, and her voice was audibly pained.

"Hey," Leah said, squeezing her shoulder. "I've told you from the very beginning; we're a family, and this is what families do for each other."

Lauren nodded. "I think," she said, and her voice shook. "This would be a little easier if I wasn't pregnant."

Brady's head jerked towards her. "You're pregnant?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said, confirming herself. The tears were pouring down her face. "I found out this morning."

He kissed the top of her head. "Awesome," he said quietly, though the joy of the situation was stolen by the grief.

"Anyone else?" Alex asked sarcastically.

"I am," Kaylie said.

Collin looked at her. "Wish I could say I was surprised," he said. "But I've been suspicious for about five minutes now."

Kaylie offered him a small smile. "Smooth," she said.

"Me too," Kaitlyn said.

"Me too," followed Nicole.

"I am as well," Ashley said.

Their husbands all reacted accordingly. Wyatt's mouth had never been wider. He looked more shocked than if she had told him she was an alien. I fought a smile in the sullen atmosphere.

"No use hiding it," Lyssie said. "I am too."

"Me too," Abbey said.

"Me too," Brooke stuttered out.

"_What_?" Embry said, totally surprised. "Seriously Brooke?"

"Seriously," she said. Considering their twins were now eight, no one was more shocked than me at Brooke's announcement.

"_Wow_…" Leah said. "So… eight of you?" she asked.

"Nine," I said.

"Huh?" Quil snapped at me.

"Just kidding," I responded.

A few peals of light laughter went around the room.

"Oh my gosh," Quil said. "Don't _do that_ to me!"

I chuckled. "Sorry," I said. "But hey, I had you all going for a second there."

"You sure did," Robert said. "I was like _what_?"

"I'm scared as shit," Ashley said matter-of-factly, and the look on her face was priceless at that moment.

"Well," Brooke said. "So am I. And I've done this before. So I guess it must be pretty normal."

Silence took over the room then, and all of the grief that had been dimmed by the good news flooded back into my system. We all sat there for a few minutes, taking in the news, and burning with the grief that the night had brought.

"I was going to tell my parents tonight," Kaylie said, breaking the silence. The rain pattered delicately on the roof, slowing from the previous downpour. She wiped her hand across the back of her face. "I guess it's just one more thing he won't be here for."

"He will _always _be here," Seth said. "Even when it seems like he's totally missing, he'll show up. Again and again, something will remind you of him."

Kaylie nodded. "We have to tell the kids."

"Eila knows," Jacob said. "She heard us talking."

"Wow," Bryce said. "Well, at least that's over."

"Yeah," Jacob said. "Do you think we should wake them up and bring them down here?"

"That's probably best," Leah said. She took in a deep breath and sighed. "This is going to get rough."

"Yeah," Mikayla said.

Most of the room got up to go get their kids and bring them downstairs. I heard Jacob clumsily trip over someone lying in front of the door, and then apologize quickly. The younger kids were really confused at getting woken up, but the older ones acted like they sort of expected it. At twelve, Nick and Jenny were not as naïve as they used to be. Even the ten-year-olds probably knew what was going on. I for one knew that when you grew up in a wolf pack, you grew up fast. There wasn't much anyone could do about that. Being who you are, you have to know how to deal with things at a younger age.

They sat all the kids in a line in front of the window wall, and they all had different expressions on their faces. The youngest children looked mad about being woken up, and were all still curled into little balls. The middle aged children were alert, but they by no means looked like they had any idea what was going on. Only Nick and Jenny looked like they knew exactly what they were about to be told, and neither one of them looked happy about it. Eila was sitting next to Ryan and Paige, and she still looked devastated.

After one beat of dead silence, the parents all looked at each other in a 'I-don't-want-to-be-the-one-to-tell-them' kind of way.

After another second, Sam squatted down in front of them. "Tonight," he said. "You guys were brought here because something really terrible happened to our family." He took a deep breath. "Tonight, Tyler and Anna's grandpa had a hard attack, and he passed away a couple hours ago."

I held my breath through the pregnant silence that followed that.

Each of the kids reacted differently to the news. No one was hysterical, but most of them were crying. Actually, Nick was the only one not crying. Anna and Tyler were holding each other's little hands, and soon Brady walked over and held both of them in his arms. Most of the other parents moved in to comfort their distressed children then, and the scene was heartbreaking.

"That is really terrible Dad," Jenny said. Her voice was filled with tears.

At that moment, I didn't think Jenny had ever looked more grown up. She looked so much like Emily, that it took my breath away for an instant. The little babies I had watched grow up were much older now, and it even surprised me. Nick looked like a very young man, sitting there holding onto Jenny's hand. He wasn't crying, and I think this fact alone established his age over the other boys.

"Nick," Joel said quietly.

"Yeah?" Nick said, and his voice sounded strange.

"It's okay to cry sometimes," Joel said.

Nick took a deep breath. "Good," he said. "Because sometimes it's really hard not to." He wiped at his eyes, and I realized how hard he had been trying to hold himself together.

Joel patted his oldest son's back. "I know," he said.

Watching all of the kids cry had me more emotional than I had been since our wedding. Quil put his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "It's going to be okay," he told me.

Eila was sitting on Bryce's lap, and Bryce had one arm around her, and one hand in Kaylie's hand. Nothing like this had happened in a long time.

It took about an hour to console the children, and it was nearing two in the morning at that point. The rain pattered gently on the roof, and Emily and Leah sang a Quileute lullaby for the kids to fall asleep to. I had heard the old lullaby a million times before, from my own mother and from the other mothers of the pack. The younger kids drifted off to sleep almost immediately, swaddled in their parent's arms or curled in between two adults. They brought the kids upstairs after a while, and after a while we heard snoring from upstairs.

We were quiet after that. There was nothing much to be said. "Is anyone hungry?" Brooke asked.

Multiple people said yes, and I followed her into the kitchen. "You're welcome to anything we have, but I make no promises," Dan told us.

"We'll work something out," Brooke said.

Sure enough, she opened the door to the refrigerator and pulled out about eight dozen pieces of chicken. "You saving the chicken for anything?" I asked.

"Saving it for someone who can cook it," Dan responded.

"I'm your girl," Brooke said.

I dug through the cabinets and started pulling out frying pans and handing them to Brooke. We both had our hands full with that much chicken, but I knew all of it would be eaten. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I could smell the chicken cooking. In fact, I was _starving_. Emily came in then to help with the chicken, and she took over the four pans that I was manning. I went to the pantry, and I grabbed a jar of peanut butter and a bag of plain potato chips. I brought them out to the kitchen and sat down. I opened both of them and dipped the chip into the jar of peanut butter. I put the combination in my mouth and the taste was sensational.

"Did you really just do that?" Emily asked me.

I looked at her. "Yeah," I said. "I guess I just did."

"Do you normally eat your potato chips with peanut butter?" She laughed.

I thought for a second. "No," I said. "In fact this is the first time I ever had. But it seemed like a really good idea, and it turned out that it was."

"That's weird Claire," Brooke told me.

"Don't judge me," I said.

Soon the chicken was ready, and everyone came into the kitchen to get a plate. I put away my snack, and grabbed a plate myself. We all went back into the living room to eat it. I sat down on the couch next to Quil, and put the hot chicken in my mouth. The food raised everyone's spirit a little bit.

The chicken started out tasting just as delicious as it smelled. But somewhere along the way, the after taste of the peanut butter began to mix with the chicken, and it tasted awful. I put the half eaten piece of chicken down suddenly, and sat the plate on my lap.

"You okay?" Quil asked.

"I think so," I said.

I leaned back into the couch and took a deep breath.

The smell of the chicken was over powering.

My stomach rolled, and I knew the feeling well enough to stand up and run to the bathroom just in time.

I gagged a few times, and soon Quil was kneeling next to me. He pulled my hair into his hand and wrapped an arm around me. The heaving had left me shaking, and he steadied me.

I reached up to flush the toilet, and noticed that it had become very quiet in the living room since we had left. I put the seat down, and carefully stood up and sat down on top of it. Quil stayed crouched on the floor and put his hands on my thighs. "You okay?" he asked again for the second time that night.

"Yeah," I said. "At least, now I am."

"What's going on?" he asked. "Were you feeling sick?"

"…No," I said. "Not really. It came on really quickly." I shook my head. "That was very strange."

I heard whispering out in the living room. "Claire?" Leah called to me.

"Yeah?" I said hoarsely.

"Are you pregnant honey?" she asked.

My legs started to feel numb, and a cold sweat came over me. "Uh..." I said. My head fell forward onto my chest. "I don't know…" I said, and I sounded very unsure even to myself. "How do you know if you're pregnant?" I asked dumbly.

"Well…" Leah started.

"Don't answer that," I said, cutting her off.

I thought for a moment. "Well," I said. "You see, the problem here is I'm only eighteen, and I haven't ever been regular if you know what I mean."

"Huh," Leah said.

"I have a pregnancy test in my purse," Nessie said.

"Why _the hell_ do you have that in your purse?" Jacob asked amidst awkward laughter.

"I don't know," Nessie said. "I think I started carrying one in there when we were first trying to get pregnant."

"That was six years ago."

"Well hey," Nessie said. "I knew I'd need one someday."

"Do you want to take a pregnancy test Claire?" Emily called to me.

"Uh," I said. I looked at Quil, and his face was calm. "I guess."

"Here," Nessie said, handing me a box. "You open it and pee on the stick."

"Oh my god," I said. "I don't think I can do this…"

Quil rubbed his hands up and down my thighs. "It's up to you," he told me.

"I have to know…" I said, trailing off.

"Well," Nessie said. "We'll leave you in here for a few minutes." She turned on the faucet to the sink. "You can come out when you're done."

Quil stood up, and Nessie shut the door behind them.

I took a deep breath, and looked at myself in the mirror. I felt tight, and like I couldn't get a deep breath in. I slowly sat on the ground, and tried to breathe. A million thoughts were running through my head. I was so young… Quil and I were still learning how to be married. A baby wasn't supposed to come now…

My hands were shaking and tried to open the box. It fell to the floor, and I wiped the tears off of my face.

"Quil!" I called out the door.

"Yeah?" he said back.

"I'm going to need you in here."

"O-kay," he said in a slightly sing-song voice.

He came in the room, and shut the door behind him.

"I can't do this," I said, and he was already wrapping me in his arms.

"Sh," he said, stroking my hair. "I know," he said. He rocked me in his arms, and held me until I was composed enough to take some deep breaths. He bent down to get the box and pulled the test out of it, setting it on the counter.

I sat down on the toilet, and he sat next to me. He passed me the test, and I took a good look at it. I took one more deep breath, and Quil ran his hand through my hair as I performed the test. I finished up, and set the test back on the counter. I stood up, and he gave me a long hug. "No matter what," he said. "I can make this okay."

I sniffed. "I know," I said. "We'll be fine."

I opened the bathroom door and walked out, checking my watch. "The deed is done," I said. "With only a slight meltdown."

"It's a big thing," Leah said. "I had a full blown panic attack the first time I took a pregnancy test. The second time I forgot to tell Joel about it for two hours. So, if it makes you feel better, things will change over time."

"I'm too young for this," I said.

"Younger have done it," Abbey said. "You just have to be extra careful."

The twenty minutes passed in jolts, but soon enough my watch read three thirty in the morning. I went to the bathroom by myself, pushing Quil back onto the couch when he stood up to come with me.

The silence was deafening as I took a good look at the test, holding it up to the light.

Two plus signs, in a bright blue color.

"Oh my god…" I said quietly. I came out into the hallway and looked at my anxious family. "I'm pregnant," I said.

Quil ran to me, and I met him half way. He swung me around in a circle, and put me back down gently. People were clapping and cheering, and I smiled. "Wow," I said. I was breathless. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Oh my god," Jacob said. "Quil you're going to be a daddy."

"Really Jacob?" Quil said. "I wasn't aware."

"This is crazy," I said.

"Eh," said Nessie. "I've seen crazier."

I was starting to freak out a little bit. "I don't think I can do this."

"I know you can," Emily said. "Both of you will be great parents. You have nothing to worry about."

"Easy for you to say," Quil said.

"I know," Emily said, holding up her hands. "But you have to trust me on this one. Everything will be fine, I promise."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

I was going to be a mother.

There was going to be a baby _inside_ of me.

There was going to be a little baby that looked just like Quil and I. There was going to be a nursery at our house, and nights where I was up more than I was asleep. There was going to be someone calling me mommy, and someone calling Quil daddy. There was going to be Christmases and birthdays and a first day of school. There was going to be one more little head running around with all of my nieces and nephews. There was going to be one more set of tears to dry when we had to gather the kids to tell them something horrible had happened. I was going to have a diaper bag, and a car seat, and nothing was going to be just get up and go anymore.

I was going to be pregnant _for nine months_. I was going to have a belly larger than my hands could reach out to. I was going to have something moving inside of me. I was going to have a sore back, and sore feet. I was going to be hungry, and I was going to be moody. I was going to have a baby _coming out of me_…


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Claire!" Emily said. And I snapped back into reality. "Stop thinking about it. It's going to be okay. I know it seems like a lot, but trust me, it comes in stages. You have a long time to get everything sorted out, and everything _will_ get sorted out. So just be happy for right now, because everything is going to be okay."

"I'm happy," Quil said, turning to me.

"Really?" I said, slightly surprised. "Cause quite honestly, I'm just scared."

"I'm scared," Quil said. "But I'm happy."

"This is going to hurt," I said stupidly.

"Probably," Quil said.

"I'm not tough," I said.

"You're one of the toughest people I know," Quil said.

"I'm scared," I repeated.

"And that's okay for right now," Quil said.

I sighed and leaned my head on hands, and put my elbows on my knees. "What if I _die_?"

Quil stiffened beside me and looked at Abbey.

"You're not going to die," Abbey said. "You're a little small, but smaller have done it. You're actually more likely to recover better from the process because you're younger. We just have to be cautious when you're delivering, in case there are complications."

"How are we even going to deliver this many babies?" Brooke asked.

"I have been wondering the same thing," Embry offered.

"That is very good question," Abbey said. "And I will get back to you on that."

Several people laughed. "I'll call Carlisle," Abbey said. "And see if they can come up here around when we should be delivering."

"And if they can't?" I said.

Abbey sighed. "Well," she smiled a sarcastic smile. "Not to be like this, but it's definitely not unheard of to have unassisted deliveries. I don't advise it… But you could all technically deliver your own babies."

"Shit," Brooke said.

"I second that," Ashley said.

"I just want this to be over already…" Nicole said.

"Guys," Abbey said. "We have nine months to figure this out. It'll be fine."

Quil squeezed my hand gently, and I latched onto his like it was a lifeline. Our hands turned white from the amount of force I was exerting on them. Quil had been strangely calm throughout this whole process. Then again… he was thirteen years older than me. His friends all already had kids. He had probably been thinking about this for a lot longer than I had.

I suddenly felt selfish for not having thought to purposely try and have children earlier. Quil had done so much for me, and I hadn't even thought about what he might be wanting out of our marriage. I should have brought it up to him sooner.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and thought about how lucky I was to have him. Most girls who were pregnant at nineteen would be lucky just to have the support of their families, and I had the support of the larger part of our community. Quil was going to be there the whole time. I kept reminding myself of that as the dark night hours began to creep into morning. I was drifting on and off on Quil's shoulder the whole night, and I didn't think anyone had kept their eyes open the entire time. At some point, Quil gently shook me and pulled me to my feet. He helped put my jacket on sleepily, and when I looked around I realized that we weren't the first to leave. I kissed both Kaylie and Lauren on the top of the head and ruffled Bryce's hair before we left.

When Quil shut the door to the car, I realized that this was the first time we had been alone since finding out that I was pregnant. He started the car and gave me his warm hand to hold in the frigid morning air. We drove in silence until I couldn't take it anymore.

"Quil," I said.

He jerked his head toward me and then back towards the road. "Right here," he said.

"We're going to have a baby."

I saw his lips curve up the slightest bit. "I know," he said. "I heard about that."

"Quil," I said, and I could hear my voice shaking. "I'm really scared."

Quil whipped the car to the side of the road and jerked it to park. He had me wrapped in his arms the next second. I started really crying then, and I couldn't stop myself.

"Oh Claire," Quil said, rocking me. "Please don't cry sweetheart."

"I," I said. "Can't do this."

"I'm so sorry, Claire," Quil said.

I choked on my tears. "It's not your fault."

Quil sighed. "I know…" He kissed the top of my head. "How can I make this better?"

I sniffed and tried to wipe my tears away. "I don't know," I said. "I'm in shock." I sniffed again. "And I'm uninformed. I have no idea what's about to happen and I'm freaking out." I wiped more of my tears away. "Time will make this better."

Quil kissed my nose. "I've got all the time in the world."

I smiled a little. "I am _so_ pregnant."

Quil quirked his head at me.

"I just had a completely irrational emotional meltdown. If that is not a sure sign of serious hormonal imbalances, than I don't know what is."

Quil laughed and kissed me again. "We're going to be okay Claire." He sat back up and put the car back in motion. "I promise."

We got home a few minutes later. My watch said it was about five am, so we both went and crawled into bed. Quil wrapped his large body around mine and held me close. In the few hours that I had known I was pregnant, I felt most content in this moment. Quil ran his hand through my messy hair, gently undoing the knots. I fell asleep in minutes.

The first few weeks of my pregnancy were interesting to say at the least. I was sick almost every morning, and I rarely had an appetite. I was also an emotional wreck. Once when Quil wasn't home I started crying because I couldn't get a knot out of my shoelaces. It was rather dramatic. I eventually got the knot out, but it was only then that I realized how irrational my tears had been.

Everyone in town was reacting differently to my pregnancy. My parents were properly excited, and that made me happy. My coworkers had been a little different. They all looked like they couldn't decide between being happy and being horrified. They were middle-aged woman, and obviously knew that I was pretty young. But, they also knew I was married. So, they kind of all did a mix of both emotions. They first stared at me completely dismayed, and after about thirty seconds they acted extremely excited for me. It was a little obnoxious, but I just laughed along with them. If they even knew the half of what Quil and I were…

I started school on August twenty-ninth. It was a nasty day, even for Washington. Quil and I had already been to two ultrasounds at this point. The ultrasounds were usually hilarious, seeing as there were nine of us. We were all at various levels of experience, and that led to some pretty interesting moments. Seth fell asleep while Abbey was working the ultrasound machine on the rest of us. She was going to do herself last, and Seth had been up all night. She finished up with Amber and then sighed, looking at Seth. She threw a towel at him and his head jerked up.

"What?" he said quickly.

"Do you want to know if the overall state of your developing child is healthy or not?"

"Yes," Seth said, shaking the sleep out of his eyes. "I'm in."

Abbey rolled her eyes at him.

I laughed at the memory. It was comforting to think that by the time Quil and I were ready to have our second baby a lot of the nerves would be gone. I was just happy to know that everything was going well with our baby at this point. I was doing as much as I could to keep myself healthy, but I still felt like I was gaining a ton of weight. I had gained five pounds already, and I was only about eight weeks in.

My first class started at nine that morning, but I was up at six emptying my stomach of anything I had eaten in the last twelve hours. I wasn't feeling up to much of anything, but I was a committed student and I would not miss class for this. I took a shower, washing my hair and face, and I felt better after that. I was a little nervous, but I blamed that on the pregnancy. I combed and dried my hair, leaving it down for the day. I took extra care on my makeup, and then opened the door of the steamy bathroom, heading back into our bedroom. Quil was up at that point, flipping through a magazine.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," I said.

"You look awful nice today," he told me, looking me up and down.

"Thanks," I said.

I started raking through our dresser, looking for a pair of jeans. "Are you nervous?" Quil asked me.

"Yes," I said. "But I'm pretending not to be, so you're going to pretend that I said no."

"Okay," Quil said.

I found the pair of jeans I was looking for. They were a little tight, but I thought I pulled them off alright. I shook the wrinkles out of them, and took my robe off. I was already wearing a bra and underwear, but Quil still gave me a low whistle.

I gave him a look. "Give me a break," I said with a smile.

I pulled my jeans on, and went to button them. I fumbled with the button for a minute, but ultimately realized that I couldn't get them to fit. I went to stand in front of the full length mirror in our room, and looked at myself.

I realized I had gained some weight, but I didn't think it was that much. I turned sideways, looking at my stomach. I cocked my head to one side, trying to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me.

"Quil," I said.

"Huh?" he asked, already having gone back to his magazine.

I walked to the foot of the bed and took a deep breath. "Do you think I'm showing?"

Quil had the same reaction I did. He looked at my stomach, and then cocked his head to the side, getting a different angle. I walked back over to the mirror, looking at myself again.

He climbed out of bed and walked over to me, standing behind me.

He wrapped one arm around me, reaching across my chest and resting it on my shoulder. He placed the other one right over my belly button.

"You know," he said. "I think you just might be."

I put my hand on top of his. "Huh," I said, slightly flabbergasted. "I think you're right."

He kissed my cheek, and I turned so that I could kiss his lips. He placed his hand on the small of my back, and the other one in my hair. It was the most gentle, and romantic kiss I had ever experienced with him.

He pulled away. "You're so beautiful," he said.

"I love you," I told him.

So, on my first day of college, I also started looking pregnant. Perfect. I liked my teachers for the most part, and the class sizes were very small. I was actually in a math class with only three other people.

It turns out that I was the first person to start showing out of our little pregnancy cult. Abbey told me it was because I was so skinny to start out with. I'm not sure if that was actually a medical fact or if she was just telling me that to make me feel better. Either way, it made me feel more normal.

The next month of my pregnancy rushed by. My schoolwork wasn't easy, but it was doable. I kept to myself in my classes, and I think the others were starting to realize that I was pregnant. By the end of my first trimester, I had no clothes that fit me anymore. I had taken to wearing sweatpants and sweatshirts, and I was in desperate need of some maternity clothes.

About as my third month was wrapping up we had another ultrasound. We all carpooled over to the big white house, and filed in upstairs. There were eighteen of us up in Carlisle's previous office by the time it all was said and done, and that was one toasty room. I kept Quil by me and I took a seat in one of the folding chairs that Abbey had put up there.

Today was a big day. We were going to find out the sex of babies today. We had all decided just to find out right away so we could start getting hand-me-downs sorted out and such. We were also going to get to hear the heartbeats of the babies today. That was the part I was most looking forward to. It would be confirmation that my little baby was okay. Brooke volunteered to go first. She hopped up on the table and pulled her shirt up. Her stomach was just slightly swollen, and she definitely had that pregnancy glow to her. Embry took a knee by her head and gave her his hand. Abbey already had the ultrasound going, and put the wand on Brooke's abdomen.

We all waited excitedly. Pretty soon a constant thumping sound came through the ultrasound. "There it is," Brooke said. She had a huge smile on her face.

"And," Abbey said. She stared carefully at the screen and turned it so that Brooke could see. "That looks like a little princess to me."

Brooke chuckled. "Perfect."

Embry held his fist out to her and she punched it.

I laughed. "Did you just give her a fist pump after finding out the sex of your baby?"

"Oh yeah," Embry said, as he helped Brooke climb off the table. "We fist pump everything."

"The kids just gag if we kiss each other, so that is what we have resorted to," Brooke said. "And that is about the extent of our romantic lives."

"Well," Seth said. "Obviously not, because in case you didn't know, you're having a baby."

Brooke turned to look at him. "Hey," she said. "We may or may not have been slightly drunk when this happened. And I do believe that that was your doing."

"What?" Quil said. "People were drunk and I missed it?"

"Yeah bro," Seth said. "You were on your honeymoon. Bryce, my mom and Charlie all took the kids for a night so we could have a night out. It was great."

"Seth poured jello shots down my throat," Brooke said. "Therefore; such is baby."

"Wow," I said. "We just didn't use a condom."

"This is true," Quil said.

"Man," Abbey said. "Didn't you learn about birth control in health?"

"Probably," I said. "But hey, what's life without a little risk." I shrugged my shoulders.

Abbey laughed. "Okay," she said. "Who's next?"

Lyssie willingly hopped up on the table, and the process continued. It turned out that Seth and Abbey, Lauren and Brady, and Wyatt and Ashley were all having girls. Lyssie and Michael, Kaylie and Collin, Nathan and Kaitlyn, and Kyle and Nicole were all having boys. I was supposed to go last, and by the time I got up there, all the positive energy in the room was kind of starting to wear me out.

Quil gave me a hand and I hopped up onto the table, leaning back on the backrest. It was warm from all of the other bodies that had been on it, and it felt good on my just-starting-to-feel-sore back. Abbey put the wand on my belly without hesitating, and I reached for Quil's hand.

Abbey was quiet as she looked at the screen, and then paused, staring at it. The silence in the room became deafening the longer she stared at the screen, and I began to panic. Something must be wrong…

I looked at Quil, and he turned towards Abbey. "Abbey…" he said.

"Everything is fine," Abbey said to him immediately. "Just give me one second."

I relaxed again into the seat, repeating those words over in my head again. Abbey walked to my side and put her hand on my stomach, pushing down on it a little at different points. She took her hand away after a moment and rubbed the ultrasound gel off on a towel.

"Well Miss Claire," she said, and smiled. "It looks like you are going to be having twins."

I kind of choked out a laugh. "Wait," I said. "Really?"

"Really really."

"Wow…" was all I could say.

Quil laughed. "Didn't see that one coming."

"You've got one boy, and one girl," Abbey told me.

I smiled. "I want to hear their heartbeats." She flipped a switch and soon there were two even heartbeats rebounding off the walls of the room. I squeezed Quil's hand, and he put his other hand over mine.

"Oh my gosh," I said, and I started to cry. "This is crazy."

Everyone was laughing at this point. Abbey shut off the ultrasound and I hopped off the table, giving Quil a hug.

I was smiling like a crazy person. "This," I said. "Is going to be no less than a hot mess."

Everyone laughed even harder then. "Well," Abbey said. "We are all sure going to have our hands full."

That night everyone was coming over to the big white house so that we could evenly distribute hand-me-downs of everything that the others possibly had. There were twenty boxes of baby clothes, ten cribs, hundreds of bottles, at least eight diaper bags, nine breast pumps, and four pack-n-plays.

The task at hand seemed large, but once we got everyone working, we had the clothes separated by sex and by age pretty quickly. Quil and I got two boxes full of clothes for our baby boy, and two more boxes for our little girl. Abbey handed me one of the breast pumps.

"You will need this," she said to me. "I guarantee it."

I held it up. "It looks like a torture device out of a horror movie."

A few people laughed. "It occasionally does take on that role," Leah said.

I gave it a look. "Whatever you say," I said, putting it inside the large diaper bag we had been assigned. We were also given Brooke's old cribs, which had been passed from her, to Abbey, to Lyssie, and finally to us. I assumed the next person who needed matching cribs would get them from us. That is, if Quil and I survived parenting twins.

The girls had also brought over maternity clothes to split up between the nine of us. There were some larger shirts that they gave to me, and I was only slightly intimidated by the size of them. I walked away with enough clothes to last me through most of my pregnancy. Seeing as Quil and I were definitely going to be pinching pennies, this was a good sign.

That night, I was up lying awake of course. I hadn't been getting as much sleep as I was used to lately, but I tried not to worry. Tomorrow was a Sunday, and Quil would let me sleep as late as I wanted. He had a patrol shift at five though, and I would probably be up sick then anyways. I was laying on top of the blankets, in just shorts and t-shirt that was too short on me. It was really hot in the house, and lying next to Quil wasn't cooling anything down much. I was flat on my back, staring at the ceiling fan whipping around above us. I had my shirt pulled up, with my hands on my belly; a habit I had started getting into at the first signs of my baby bump.

The night was silent, and my breath was slow and even, just a little faster than Quil's.

Suddenly, I felt the strangest sensation. It was like a gentle shifting just below my ribs. I caught my breath, and lay perfectly still.

The babies were moving.

I whipped my hand over and whacked Quil on the back.

His breath caught and he sat up. "Huh?" he said, confused.

I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly. "The babies," I whispered. "Are moving."

He sat there very still, registering what I had said. The babies shifted again, and I saw in his eyes that he felt it.

He lay down next to me, and I curled into him. My stomach was pressed into his. When the babies moved again, I knew he could feel it too.

"You know," he whispered. "I can't imagine anything more beautiful than you right now."

I looked up into his eyes and he was staring right back at me. I gently put my lips onto his, and he rolled over so that I was on top of him. I straddled his torso, and gently pulled myself up so that I was kneeling over him. My hair hung down in his face. "You know," I said. "I could say the exact same thing about you."

The next two months flew by, dragging me through the middle mark of my pregnancy. I was huge, but Abbey kept telling me I was below the average mark for other women pregnant with twins. She said this was probably because I was so young. My back was killing my already, and I was wondering how much larger I could possibly get. I already couldn't see my feet when I looked down. I had taken to lying on my left side with an ice pack on my back, and then after about twenty minutes I would switch it out with a hot towel. I hadn't noticed any stretch marks yet, but I was taking extra care to keep it moisturized and putting anti-stretch mark cream on it. I was keeping up on my schoolwork, and was doing fine in all of my classes.

A few weeks after the middle mark, we had to go have a six-month ultrasound. We would be able to see the babies more clearly now, and I was looking forward to it.

I went first this time, and didn't even cringe as Abbey put the cold-but-familiar ultrasound gel on. She moved the wand over my tan stomach and slid it around until she got a view of 'baby A'. The twins had a habit of kicking and squirming like crazy when I was getting an ultrasound, and this time you could see my stomach visibly quivering from all the movement.

Abbey laughed. "They keep moving out of the way…"

I was out of breath from all the moving, but said, "They're probably camera shy."

Abbey had the wand on me for a whole two minutes before the babies finally calmed down enough for Abbey to get a view of them. "So," Abbey said. "You're little boy looks all healthy. He's had good development so far…" she trailed off, thinking. "Everything should be just fine with him." She moved the wand to get a view of our little girl. "She looks good as well," Abbey said. "She's a bit skinnier than he is, but that tends to happen with a multi-sex pregnancy." She pulled the wand off my stomach and Quil pulled me up to a sitting position. "Have you been getting cramps anywhere?" she asked.

"A little bit around my belly button," I said.

"Okay," Abbey said. "We have to start watching out for false labor with you. If you have any contraction-like pains, lie on your left side and drink water. Keep off your feet, and keep calm. They're going to hurt, but not like real labor."

"How will I know the difference between false and real labor?" I asked.

"Well," Abbey said. "It's just something a mother knows. If you're really unsure, call me. But I had false labor the last time I was pregnant, and I could tell the difference. Plus, false labor doesn't really come as consistently as real labor does. You shouldn't have any problems."

I shrugged my shoulders. "If you say so."

The assembly line continued. The other eight girls were doing great, and looked fantastic. "Okay," Abbey said after she finished with herself. "I was thinking."

"Did it hurt much?" Embry said.

"Shut-up," Abbey responded fluidly. "Recently, there have been really good reports about women who go to a birthing class before they give birth." She sighed. "I know it sounds awkward… But I think we should give it a shot."

"How much is this going to cost?" Nicole asked immediately.

"There's a clinic in Port Angeles that offers it for free. I've already looked it up," Abbey said.

"Well," I said. "I suppose there's no reason not to…"

"Exactly my thoughts," Abbey said. "It's on Saturday nights, and it lasts for nine weeks. We could start as early as next week."

"So that would take us almost to the very end of our pregnancies," Kaylie said.

"Yes," Abbey said. "Which is why I thought that it would be a good idea."

"I'm in," I said, shrugging my shoulders a second time. There was a chorus of agreement.

The next Saturday, we were getting ready to go up to Port Angeles for our first go at a birthing class. Apparently, we were supposed to bring a pillow. We were carpooling up there with Brooke and Embry to hopefully save some money on gas. I knew everyone else was carpooling in one way or another as well.

Embry pulled the car into our driveway at six pm, and the class started at seven. I walked out of the house carrying my purse and the pillow and got into the backseat. Quil came out behind me.

I slammed the door shut. "I _do not_ want to _do_ this," I said.

Brooked laughed. "Quite honestly," she said. "Neither do I."

"You will both be fine," Embry said.

"It's going to be awkward," I sighed.

"Childbirth is awkward," Brooke said.

"Oh boy," I said. "What have I gotten myself into?"


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

The ride up there wasn't too long, but I had trouble getting comfortable. I kept having to shift in my seat, trying to relax. The babies were kicking up a storm. "Jeez," I said when there was a lull in the conversation. "I think these kids are playing soccer with my rib cage…"

"I do not miss that," Brooke said. "Let me tell you, if you ever get pregnant again and it's just one baby, it seems like nothing."

I laughed. "I do not even want to think about another baby right now."

"That's how we were for a while," Embry said.

"Yeah, like eight years," Brooke said.

"Are they excited to have another sibling?" Quil asked.

"Usually," Embry said. "Madi doesn't really want to have to share her room, but she's warming up to the idea I think."

"She'll be okay," Brooke said. "She's just a little unsure of it all right now."

"Marc could care less," Embry said. "We're not even sure he knows that Brooke is pregnant. We told them, but a lot of things go right over that kid's head."

"Hey," Quil said. "That sounds like someone else I know."

"Shut up," Embry said.

Quil chuckled. "I can't believe we are going to have babies at the same time," Quil said. "I never thought that would happen."

"None of us did," Embry said. "You guys are like… thirteen years apart."

"Which only weirds you out if you sit and think about it," I said with a laugh. "So basically, we never think about it."

"There you go," Brooke said.

"Hey though," Quil said. "Jake and Nessie are seventeen years apart, and they already have two kids."

"Wow," I said. "They even top our weirdness."

"I have a very hard time remembering that you are older than Nessie," Brooke told me.

"Ha ha," I said. "So do I."

We got to the birthing class about fifteen minutes later. The other carloads from La Push were getting there around the same time we did, and we waited in the parking lot until everyone was there.

The clinic was small, but as we walked in I could see that it was very organized. We had to sign our names in on a clipboard, and we were directed to a room toward the back of the building. When we came in, the room was basically just a carpeted floor with a white board and screen at the front of the room.

"Hi," The instructor said. "I'm Brianna." She looked to be about twenty eight, and seemed nice enough. "Go ahead and just pick a spot on the floor and take a seat. We'll get going here in a couple of minutes."

I looked at Quil, and he shrugged. We took a seat just a little off the center of the room. We both put our feet out in front of us and leaned back on our hands. When you looked at my stomach, you could just barely make out the subtle shifts it made when the babies moved. Quil put his hand on mine, and I tried to relax.

It turns out we were the only ones in the birthing class, and that made me feel a little bit better.

"Okay," Brianna said as the clock struck seven. "Welcome to your first session of birthing class. Tonight, we are going to be doing a lot of very basic things, and getting used to each other." I had to fight back the laugh inside of me. We'd been getting used to each other for fifteen years. The first half hour of the class was spent with Brianna telling us the basics of birth, and the normal progression of labor. None of it sounded unlike anything I had ever heard about, and that was comforting to me.

"So," Brianna said. "To prepare your body for labor and delivery there a few exercises you can do with your partners help. As we get farther along here, we'll start to do more specific breathing techniques and stuff, but tonight we're just going to do very general, basic coping techniques. So, I want everyone to sit up as straight as they can with their partners behind them." Quil and I assumed the position along with everyone else in the room. "Now," Brianna said. "Most doctors and midwives will ask you to push for a total of ten counts. So, to practice that, I want you guys to practice breathing in for ten counts, and then immediately breathing out for ten counts. Partners, I want you to wrap your arms just above the baby bump, and let yourself be leaned into. We are going to do this five times just as soon as everyone gets settled."

Quil wrapped his arms around me, and gave me a little squeeze. I leaned onto him, and he supported my weight easily.

This first exercise wasn't too bad. It was a little hard to get used to breathing so slowly at first, but I eventually got used to it. Plus, the more I breathed, the more the babies settled down. I would have to remember that the next time they were kicking me to death.

The rest of the class passed without much event. We did the breathing exercise three different times, and the last time Quil had to squeeze my arms. This was supposed to be teaching me how to relax through pain.

I left the class feeling more informed, and it had thankfully not been as awkward as I had anticipated.

That night, Quil and I were laying in bed talking just like we did on most nights. I was curled up against him, but I couldn't get as close as I used to be able to. He rested one of his hands on my belly and felt the babies moving around. "You know," he said, running his other hand through my hair. "I think you're beautiful."

I smiled. "Really?" I said sarcastically. "Cause I just feel fat."

We both laughed at that. "Oh no," Quil said. "You look perfect."

I smiled. "Glad you think so."

The babies really started to kick then, and I gasped as the air was knocked out of me. "Hey…" Quil said, and rubbed my belly. "Settle down in there…"

I smiled at him, and caught my breath a few minutes later. "You know," I said. "Even though I feel huge most of the time, they feel so small…" I looked down at my belly. "They're not even fully developed yet, but I can feel they're little hands and feet and elbows. They're absolutely miniscule…" I trailed off.

"I can't imagine," Quil said.

I kissed him. "Soon," I said. "Daddy will get to hold them too."

Quil leaned his head on mine. "Just a couple more weeks."

The last trimester of my pregnancy dragged on. I was huge, but Abbey kept telling me that I was under par for what a normal twin's pregnancy would look like. The Cullen's were scheduled to come down here for the births, so we would have all hands on deck. Just a couple weeks before I was due I had final exams in school, and they were awful. The tests themselves weren't that hard, but having to sit through hours of testing was extremely uncomfortable. I came home at night usually pretty cranky, but Quil was good. He was very understanding, and he tried to help me through whatever he could. I was much more relaxed once school got out though, and Quil and I started getting ready for the babies. My mom and I had been getting the nursery ready for a few weeks now. On one of the last nights of my pregnancy, Jacob and Quil put together the two bassinettes in our garage. Nessie brought the kids over, and insisted on making us dinner.

That night, Quil rubbed ice all over my swollen stomach. It was starting to really get sore from all of the kicking, and Abbey had suggested it. I hadn't had terrible false labor, but that night it was really bad. I could hardly catch my breath, and I was starting to get really freaked out. Quil held me though, and I just held on tight. The babies were both very active that night, but eventually calmed down enough for me to fall asleep.

For the last several months, the eagles had been planning on going back to their old reservation to talk to some of the tribal elders. They had had a much more difficult transformation than any of the wolves had because they hadn't any support from any of their families. Dan had told Sam that he wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen when they went back, but they wanted the wolves to be there. The morning they left I was in my thirty-ninth week of pregnancy and I felt like I was about to give birth any day.

The wolves and eagles left very early in the morning, seeing as they were running/flying to the eagle's old reservation. They were all a little nervous I think, and Quil seemed anxious when he kissed me good bye that morning. None of the girls who were pregnant were going, and I was pretty sure that most of them hadn't changed in a couple of weeks. Leah was staying home too, just because she didn't want to leave her kids home alone all day with their thirteen-year-old brother in charge.

That afternoon, after I had cleaned the whole house for the second time in the last two weeks, I went over to sit with Ashley. When I got there, Kaitlyn and Nicole were there as well. "Hey," I said as I walked in. I had been trying not to waddle, but it was getting hard not to.

"Hey," Ashley said. "Come on in."

I joined her where she was sitting on the couch. "How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"I'm actually doing pretty well," Ashley said. "Ready to go any day now though," she said.

I laughed. "Tell me about it."

The four of us talked about anything and everything. We didn't say as much about our pregnancies as we would have a few months ago. The due dates were getting a little too close for comfort.

Around seven o'clock that night, there was still no sign of the guys, so we decided to make some dinner. At least we had each other's company. At nine o'clock, we had all cleaned up and I was about to head home to take a shower. As I was saying bye and heading toward the door, something stopped me in my tracks.

A tight, painful cramping suddenly started in my lower stomach. It lasted for about a thirty seconds, and then let up. "Oh…" I said, catching my breath. "I think I just went into labor…"

"Really?" Ashley said. "Are you-" she stopped midsentence and I saw what had happened in her face. "Wow…" she said. "Uh… me too…"

Just then all four of our cell phones began to ring. "I bet I know who this is," I said. Sure enough, Brooke's name appeared on my cell phone screen. "Yes," I answered. "I just went into labor, and so did Ashley."

Brooke laughed. "Great," she said. "The Cullen's aren't supposed to be in until like midnight…" She sighed. "Oh boy."

"Hey," I said, watching Kaitlyn and Nicole. "Kaitlyn and Nicole just went into labor too."

Brooke said a swear word. "Okay," she said. "I'll call Abbey, but let's make the plan to meet at the white house in twenty minutes. Don't drive yourself if you don't think you can."

"Okay," I said, trying to stay as calm as possible as I felt the next contraction. "See you then."

I immediately called Leah. "Hey," I said. "We just went into labor."

"Shit," Leah said without hesitation.

"Can you please come get us?" I said. "Four of us are at Ashley and Wyatt's house."

"I'll be there soon," Leah said. "Lyssie called like two minutes ago and is bringing her kids over to Sue's. I'm going to go get her and then I will be right over."

A few minutes later I was slowly pulling myself out of Leah's car at the Cullen's old house. Emily pulled in right behind us with Brooke, Abbey, Kaylie and Lauren.

"Nessie is going to try and find the guys," Emily said. "And Rachel and Kim are on their way over here to help. Sue, Charlie, and Billy have all of the kids currently. Even Jenny and Nick were going over there with our kids," she told Leah.

"Good," Leah said. "I only had time to give them minimal instructions, and I feel a lot better where they're there anyway…"

"Right," Emily said. "That's why I told them to head over there."

"Okay," Abbey said, taking control of the situation as we walked up the stairs to what was previously Carlisle's office. "Right now, we need more hands…" She stopped as the next contraction hit her. She took a few deep breaths, breathing through it. "Okay," she said as the contraction eased. "Can you think of anyone else who could help out?"

Emily ran her hand through her head. "Billy and Charlie can handle the kids if they have to. Sue is an option." She sighed. "And… If all else fails… Jenny is thirteen. She could help out a little."

Abbey waved her hand. "She's all we have. I'll take her; I only need a little help anyway."

"Okay," Emily said, and she immediately pulled out her cell phone. I was starting to panic a little, we currently only had six people to deliver ten babies, and Quil wasn't here. I _needed _Quil.

"Nessie will find the boys," Leah said. "I know she will. And she can help. So can the other eagle girls. And if Nessie doesn't call me telling them she found them in the next hour, I'm shifting and telling them to get their butts back here now."

"Unless we have disturbingly fast labor," Kaylie said. "The Cullen's should be able to make it."

"Yes," Abbey said. "I'm just trying to plan ahead here."

The first hour of our labor was extremely stressful. Leah had gone out to try and get the boys, a few minutes ago, and we were all waiting for her anxiously to return. A couple minutes later, she was walking back up the Cullen's long backyard.

"I found them," she said. "Just about the same time Nessie did." She sighed. "They're still about an hour's run away, but they're coming as fast as they can. They said to hold on, and that they love you."

"No shit," Ashley said. She threw her hands in the air. "That's how we got into this mess."

Leah laughed. "Right…" she said.

We had all made our way down to the living room at this point, and I was standing by the window, trying to work with the contractions. "Okay guys," Abbey said. "We need to get checked to see how dilated we are. I obviously can't check myself, but I'm going to assume I'm at the same dilation you guys are."

"I'll go first," Brooke volunteered bravely. "I've done this before," she said with a smile.

"Great," Abbey said. "Do you want to do it on the couch?"

Brooke laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Oh sure," she said.

We all sat down on the long winding couch. I tried not to pay attention as Brooke got checked, knowing it would freak me out.

Leah was sitting by me, and she grabbed my hand as Abbey slowly worked her way down the line of girls. When she got to me, I squeezed Leah's hand tightly, and reminded myself that the next time I did this, Quil would probably be here.

Abbey was very fast, but it still hurt. I kept myself breathing, focusing on getting oxygen to me and the babies. I would be holding them soon…

Abbey pulled back. "Very good Claire," she said, pausing to work through a contraction, and I felt one come to me at the same time. "You're at about four centimeters," Abbey said as the contraction eased.

I sighed. Quil would be here soon. I kept repeating this to myself over and over again.

"Okay girls," Abbey said. "We're all doing just fine. Sue and Jenny will be here as soon as the little kids fall asleep, and Nessie and the boys shouldn't be far behind them," she sighed. "Walking will speed things up, but that could be a bad thing if we want to try and hold off until the Cullen's get here. I'm going to leave that up to you guys though," Abbey said.

"I think we should try to wait," Kaylie said. "At least until the boys are here."

"I agree," I said, squeezing Leah's hand again as another contraction hit me. The other girls agreed, and I stood up again, trying to work with the contraction.

As it eased up, I went back to standing by the back window, watching for any sign of the wolves. I wrapped my hands around my belly, holding onto my babies.

_It's okay_, I thought as they shifted. _Daddy will be here soon._

The other girls were talking to each other quietly, talking about names and such. Brooke called her kids and told them everything was okay. Lyssie, Kaylie, Lauren, and Abbey all called their kids too. Leah called to talk to Nick and Lexi, and told them to take care of their siblings, and to behave for Charlie and Billy.

Sue and Jenny arrived just a few minutes before I was expecting the boys to be here. Jenny looked a little scared, but she was calm. Abbey talked to her, explaining to her what she was going to need to do. Basically, Abbey just needed her there to help her catch the baby as it was born, and to help her hold her feet back.

"Okay," Jenny said. "I think I can do that."

"Great," Abbey told her.

I went to get a glass of water, and then I used the bathroom. I kept telling myself to be calm through the contractions, and went back to watch at the big window wall. The next contraction came, and it was by far the worst one yet. It knocked the breath out of me, and made me gasp. "Oh my gosh…" I said. Leah came to stand by me, and grabbed my hand.

"Hey…" she said. "Look who's here."

I opened my eyes as the contraction eased, and saw all nine of the boys jogging out of the woods, with Nessie in the lead.

She ran through the back door and skidded to a halt. "Got 'em," she said sounding very proud of herself. I laughed in relief.

The boys came in the door next, and I could tell how worried they had been by the looks on their faces.

Quil's eyes were searching for me, and he gave me a small smile when they met. I met him for a hug, and he kissed the top of my head. "Sorry," he said.

I laughed. "No worries. We've just been having a party."

"Oh yeah," Lyssie said. "It's been great."

I felt a contraction coming again, and I linked my fingers through Quil's. "Here we go," I told him. He grabbed onto my other hand, and stood with me as I worked through the contraction. It was just as bad as the last one, but it seemed so much easier now that Quil was here. He ran his thumbs back and forth across the back of my hands, something he had done a million times before. It was extremely comforting.

I looked up at him as the contraction eased. "I was at four centimeters the last time they checked me," I told him.

"That's great," he said calmly.

"You guys are just in time for the next round," Abbey said. "I need to check you guys again. Who's first?"

"Me!" Ashley said suddenly.

"Man, girl," Abbey said. "Getting brave."

Ashley shook her head with a smile. "Oh I'm all ready now," she said. "This baby is coming out!"

Abbey laughed. "Glad you feel so ready."

This time all sixteen of us sat down on the couch. It was a little cramped, but I liked having my family all around me. I had Quil on my left side, and Kyle on my left. Seth stood over by the window, looking out. "Do your thing Abbey," he told her.

"You know," she said. "I'm giving birth here too."

"I'm aware," Seth said. "But I do not need to see what's about to go down over there."

Abbey laughed. "Okay," she said. She slowly dropped to her knees in front of Ashley. "Here we go Ash."

Wyatt had his arm around Ashley, and I turned away, looking at Quil. The rest of us were talking quietly to each other.

"How has it been?" Quil asked me.

"Well," I said. "It's been a lot like labor."

He laughed and kissed me. "Good or bad labor?"

"Abbey said it's been pretty decent," I told him. "The contractions are hard… But I'm hanging in there." The next contraction pulled through my body just then, and I winced. "Oh," I said, letting all of my air out at once. "Okay…" I said, taking a deep breath in, fighting to keep control. "This is a bad one…" I shifted slightly in my seat, trying to work through the contraction. I put my head on Quil's shoulder and he stroked my hair gently.

"Just hang in there," he told me. "Keep breathing."

I could tell that some of the other girls were having contractions if I listened closely, but I kept focused on Quil. "That's my girl," he told me. "Just keep blowing out."

I slumped against him as the contraction eased. I heard Abbey call for Seth and he came to her. I rested my head on Quil's firm chin. "That was a rough one," I said.

"You did really good," Quil said, kissing my forehead.

"Okay," Abbey said as her contraction eased. "That hurt." She looked at Brooke who was next in the line of girls to be checked. "You ready?" she asked her.

"Go ahead," Brooke said with a nod.

Abbey moved down the line until she got to me. I spread my legs, and Quil held onto me. I grabbed his hands, and breathed in deep. Abbey pulled away. "Nice job Claire," she said. "We're at six centimeters."

"Great," I said.

Abbey moved onto to Nicole. "Phew," I said. "Glad that's over."

Quil laughed. "Over halfway," he said.

I leaned on his shoulder. "They're almost here," I said. "We can hold them soon."

"I know," Quil said. "We're almost there."

"The Cullen's are on the ground," Nessie reported as she hung up the phone. "And my father is driving. They will be here in about an hour if they get through luggage fast," Nessie said.

"Thank God," Abbey said. "Cause I was starting to get worried."

"You're not supposed to say that," Kaitlyn said.

"I know," Abbey said. "Which is why it was getting so bad."

I laughed. "At least they're coming."

"Right," Abbey said. She stood up. "Alright girls," she looked at as. "Now that we know they'll be here soon, I'd like to start walking. I don't want this to last any longer than it has to."

"I'm with you," Brooke said.

We all stood up, and Quil and I started mapping out a path through the house. We were holding hands, and we had a pretty good pace. I wasn't waddling too terribly, but it was hard work not to. I did my best to keep moving through contractions, but sometimes it was all I could do to not fall to my knees. They were getting a lot worse, and I knew that my labor was coming to a peak.

Right as things were starting to get really bad, I saw headlights on the drive, and the car was going _really_ fast. Edward skidded it to a stop in the gravel and they were getting out of the car before it had even stopped moving. Carlisle, Edward, Esme, Rosalie, Bella, and Andrea all made their way up the steps at lightning speed.

They burst through the door. "Wow," Nessie said. "That was quite an entrance."

"Hello to you too," Edward said. She gave him a hug, and then her mother next.

"Okay," Carlisle said after he gave Nessie a gentle squeeze. "What do we have here?"

"Six centimeters the last time," Abbey said. "And everyone has done really well so far."

"Perfect," Carlisle said. "Do we know who's delivering whose babies yet?"

"Just about to get to that," Abbey said. "What do you think?"

"Well," he said. "You are obviously going to need the least amount of help. So I was thinking Andrea could go with you."

"Great," Abbey said. "And Jenny can help with me too."

Carlisle looked at Jenny. "Oh my gosh," he said. "Jenny's here."

"Yeah," Emily said. "We needed hands."

"Well you will be fantastic for that," Carlisle said. "You can help me too."

Jenny smiled shyly. "Okay," she said.

"You can go with Claire?" Abbey asked Carlisle.

"That's probably best," Carlisle said.

"Okay," Abbey said. "I was thinking Rachel could go with Brooke, and Kim could go with Lyssie."

"Have there been any complications?" Carlisle asked.

"None," Abbey told him.

"Then that's fine," Carlisle agreed. "And Rosalie can help with both of those I think."

"Okay," Abbey said. "Let's put Lauren and Kaylie with Emily and Leah," she said. "And maybe Esme could help with those two?"

"Yes," Carlisle said. "And then we'll put Edward with Ashley and Bella with Nicole. Sue, do you think you can handle Kaitlyn if you have Nessie to help you?"

"Yes," Sue said.

"Okay," Carlisle said. "Then I think we're good."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Just then, I felt a sudden rush of water between my legs, and heard a whooshing noise. I gasped, and fell forward. Quil caught me and I groaned. "_Ow_…" I said. I took in a deep breath and winced. I felt the tears on my cheeks and I slowly stood myself back up.

"Hey," Quil said, looking at my eyes. He wiped away the tears. "You're doing so good."

I looked around and I could tell that a few other people's water had just broken as well. I gasped as the next contraction hit me, and I almost fell. Quil held me up, and I held onto him for all I was worth as the contraction rocked me. "Oh my gosh," I said. I was panting, trying to get a deep breath in, but it hurt more than I could've imagined.

"Breathe Claire," I heard Edward say. "Come on now, stick with us."

I pulled air through my lungs, and the contraction slowly released. "Good girl," Edward said.

"Let's check you guys again," Carlisle said. "And you are going this time," he said, giving Abbey an evil smile.

She stuck her tongue out at him and he laughed.

All eighteen of us were sitting on the couch this time. "Let's do this," Abbey said. She was sitting in the middle. This time, Bella, Edward, and Carlisle all checked us. It went much faster like this. Carlisle came to me and said hello. "Hi," I said.

"Let's see how far you are," Carlisle said, and I spread my legs. Quil held onto me tightly, and I did my best to get one breath in after the other. His cold hands were actually a little less painful than Abbey's had been, and he was a least twice as fast as she was.

"Wow," Carlisle said. "I've got nine," he said.

"Me too," Edward said.

"I'm with you," Bella concurred.

I sat still as they finished checking everyone else, and then the next contraction hit me. I moaned and fell onto Quil's shoulder. It rose to a peak, and I bit my lip to keep from screaming. After nearly a minute, it died slowly.

I let out all of my air, and felt a little light headed. "Keep breathing Claire," Carlisle said. "You need to get air to those babies."

I sucked in as much air as I could, and Quil rubbed my arms. "Good job," Quil said. He kissed my forehead.

"Alright girls," Carlisle said. "We're going to need you guys to spread out a little bit and then just hang tight until we're ready for you to start pushing. It won't be much longer."

"This couch reclines," Bella said. "Three of you can stay here."

"Stay here Claire," Carlisle said. "This is in the middle of room. That way I'm close to everyone else if there's an emergency."

He didn't have to tell me twice. I scooted to the middle of the wrap-around couch and Quil reclined it for me. I was much more relaxed lying down, but that still didn't stop me from tensing as the next contraction rolled through me. "Easy Claire," Quil said. "Let it come sweetheart." He ran his hand through my long hair, pulling it off my face and neck. "You're so close honey…" He gave me his hand, and I squeezed it as the contraction peaked and died. I took in a large breath and blew it out slowly.

"I feel like I need to push," I said quietly. I could feel the baby's head sitting almost at my legs.

Carlisle looked in between my legs quickly. "Okay," he said. "On the next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can." He looked at Quil. "Get behind her," he said.

I looked around, and realized that the other girls were all reclined in similar positions to me. Brooke was on the left side of the couch, and Kaylie was on the right. I looked up at Quil, who was now behind me with his long legs straddling me from behind.

"I love you," I told him, wiping the tears out of my eyes.

He laughed. "I love you too."

I took his hands in mine, and tried to prepare myself for what I was about to do. I wondered who it was I could feel right now, my little boy or my little girl? Quil and I had decided on names a few weeks ago. The names didn't have any particular inspiration. They were going to be Jason Phillip and Jayna Kay. I just wanted to hold them…

I felt the next contraction coming before it actually hit me, and Carlisle could see it. "Okay," he said. "Give me all you've got Claire."

I took a deep breath in and when I blew out I bore down hard. I knew one of the babies was very close to being out, because I could feel it stretching my cervix almost immediately. I ran out of air quickly, and took another in. "Go again," Carlisle said. "That a girl."

I bore down, and Quil leaned forward so my head was pushed onto my chest. "Keep going Claire," I heard him say. "You can do this. They're almost here baby."

I threw my head back and moaned as the first baby's head slipped out. "Stop pushing," I heard Carlisle say. "Try to pant," he told me. "Jenny," he called calmly.

Jenny came over quickly. "I'm going to need you to hold the first baby and clear his nose and mouth while Claire delivers the second baby. They're going to be born very close together."

Jenny knelt down then. "Alright Claire," Carlisle said. "On the next contraction, give me one big push, and the first baby will be out."

I gasped as the next contraction hit me, and I pushed. I heard myself yelp just a little as the baby slipped out. I heard that first precious cry, and looked down as Carlisle cut the cord and handed the baby to Jenny. "It's a boy," Carlisle said. "A very healthy little boy."

His cry was so quiet, but it was as loud as he could go. My little Jason was finally here. I heard other baby's cries around me, but I was distracted very quickly. "Oh!" I said as the next contraction hit me.

I groaned as I pushed again, not even waiting for Carlisle's instructions. I only had to push twice before I felt her head slip out. "Keep panting," Carlisle told me.

I tried to pant, but I felt like the baby wasn't stopping. She wanted out.

"Push," Carlisle said suddenly, and I had no problem doing that. I cried out as the baby left my body, and soon heard her precious cry as well.

Carlisle handed our squirming baby girl off to Edward who had just come over. "Bella," Edward immediately called. "We need your help."

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, expecting the worse.

"Your babies are perfect," Carlisle told me as I saw him dig something out of his bag. "You had a little tear though…"

I tried to remain calm by listening to the sound of my babies crying. Jenny was trying to soothe Jason quietly, but he wasn't having it. They were finally here.

I felt the stitches going in, and I did my best not to cry out. I felt lightheaded, and I my head flopped back onto Quil's shoulder. I was going limp in his arms. "Stay with us Claire," Edward said. He put his cold hand on my face. "Your babies need you," he said.

"I need you," Quil said.

I forced my eyes open. "Blood loss is slightly above traumatic," Carlisle said, and I felt him finishing up. "I need vitals on her."

I heard Edward rattling off numbers to Carlisle as he put his hand on my neck, and put his ear near my chest as he listened to me breathe. Carlisle held my feet above my head and told me to keep breathing. I did my best to do this, and soon I was feeling less light headed.

"I want to see them," I said quietly.

Bella held up my now quiet little Jayna and showed her to me. She was swaddled in a pink blanket, and looked warm and peaceful. I cried when I realized she looked just like me, and Bella brought her close so I could kiss her. Jenny showed me a similarly wrapped Jason in a blue blanket, and he looked just like his sister. They were beautiful. I kissed him as well, and waited for Carlisle to slowly let my feet down.

Quil helped push the reclined couch up, and Jenny and Bella brought me my babies. Bella laid a sleeping Jason on my knees, and placed Jayna in my arms.

"Oh," I cooed at her. I put my other hand on Jason's belly, and gently passed Jayna to Quil. He kissed her on the head, and I thought I saw the faintest trace of tears in his eyes. I held Jason close to me, and he sighed contentedly.

"They're beautiful," Quil said, and the content silence that filled the room was priceless. Quil kissed me on the cheek. "I'm so proud of you."

"Well done Claire," Carlisle said.

I looked around then, and saw that there were several other newly formed families sitting just like Quil and I were. Quil gave me a squeeze with his free arm and scooted out from behind me. I felt exhausted, but I was doing my best to keep myself as alert as possible. I didn't want to miss one minute I got to spend with these precious babies.

I handed Quil Jason, and he held onto both of his babies tightly. They looked warm and cozy curled up against their father, and I wiped my eyes again.

Carlisle was now going around making sure that everyone was totally okay, and Edward and Bella were making birth certificates. Quil gave me Jayna back, and I held my little princess close. I felt so spoiled, having two tiny babies to love so much. I leaned against Quil, and he kissed my head again.

Leah checked her watch. "It's just a little after one am," she said. "Do you want to wake everyone up now or wait until morning?"

I laughed to myself. "I'm good either way, but I think they would appreciate it more in the morning."

Leah laughed. "Good point." She sighed. "If you guys are good, I think I'll start a phone chain telling everyone to come over around nine o'clock tomorrow?"

"That sounds perfect," Carlisle said. "That'll give us time to clean up and get a little bit more organized I suppose."

Emily laughed. "That was only a little bit chaotic."

Andrea laughed. "I only freaked out a little bit."

Ashley chuckled to herself. "I only freaked out a lot."

I shifted a little in my seat and winced as I felt where the stitched were. "Wow," I said. "That's a little sore."

"It's going to be a lot sore as soon as the shock wears off," Carlisle said. "In fact, I have some pain medication that I want you to be taking for the next forty-eight hours."

"Awesome," I said. I rocked Jayna as she stirred in my arms, and I realized how much smaller I felt without my two little babies in my stomach. I felt just the slightest bit empty, but mostly just more comfortable. I felt myself drifting on Quil's shoulder, and barely noticed when Leah, Sue, Jenny, Emily, Kim, Rachel, Nessie, and Andrea left. They were going home to be with their families I was sure.

The next morning I woke up to the sound of a baby crying, and I woke up a little disoriented. I was lying on top of Quil, still on the couch where I had just given birth in the hours previous. The sun was up behind the cloudy drizzle that always seemed to hang over Forks. Our babies were sleeping soundlessly on a blanket on the floor next to us. I looked around for the source of the quiet crying, and realized that Wyatt was calmly trying to shush his little girl, Mackenzie I think. I realized soon that he and I were the only ones awake. Everyone else was either asleep on couches, chairs, or floors.

I slowly sat up off of Quil, noticing how sore I was, but also trying not to wake him. I slowly climbed off of him, and stood up just as slowly. I was _really_ sore. The stitches didn't hurt too badly, but I could still feel them. They were just a little uncomfortable. I picked up my little Jayna off the floor and went to sit next to Wyatt.

"Hey," I whispered.

"Hi," he said. I listened closely and I could hear pots and pans rattling upstairs. I could make out Edward saying something, but I don't know what it was. "How are you?" Wyatt asked me.

"I'm okay," I said. "Pretty sore though."

Wyatt chuckled. "I'm sure you are. That was pretty scary last night."

"Yeah," I said. "I was scared."

He looked at Ashley, and then back at Mackenzie. "She looks just like Ashley," he said.

I looked, and saw the resemblance. "She does," I agreed.

He looked down at Jayna in my arms. "You've got a little look-a-like there," he said.

I smiled. "I've got two," I said, nodding over to where Jason was sleeping next to Quil. "They look about as similar as a boy and girl could I think."

Wyatt agreed. "They look more alike than any of the other twins we have, that's for sure."

With the birth of our twins, there were now four sets of fraternal twins in this generation. Brooke and Embry had Madi and Marc, Abbey and Seth had Elizabeth and Evan, Lyssie and Michael had Jon and Jayde, and now we had Jason and Jayna. Add Kaylie and Lauren to that mix and we had a whole group of multiples.

Other people were waking up now. Jason started to whimper, and Quil stirred. Lyssie and Michael were already up with their little boy Noah. They had found a spot on the day bed across the room from us. Nathan and Kaitlyn were both on the floor by the big windows, with their little Aidan sleeping soundly in between them. Nathan was helping Kaitlyn up as I watched. Seth and Abbey were curled up together in one of the large chairs in the living room, not far from Quil and I. They had their little Aubrey all snug in between them, but I could see that they were up talking already. Kaylie and Collin were just now sitting up on the couch with Collin holding onto their little Mitchell. Brooke and Embry were at the other end of the couch with their _very_ tiny Bridgette in between them. She was awake, but not crying. Lauren and Brady were off on the floor by the staircase, with Brady cuddling Sydney to him. Kyle and Nicole were behind the couch, and were sitting up leaning against it while they both held their Logan.

Quil sat up and looked around for a second, confused until he saw me talking to Wyatt, and then bent down to pick up Jason. He cradled Jason to him, and Jason fell back asleep almost immediately as Quil's warm body pressed against him. Quil stood up and came over to sit by me.

"Claire," he said. "We have kids."

I laughed at his simplicity. "Yes," I said. "We do."

Ashley sat up and stretched, wincing. "How are you doing?" she asked me.

"Well," I said. "I got up and walked over here. And as soon as I sat down I made the executive decision that I would not be getting back up until someone makes me."

Ashley laughed. "Yeah…" she said. She looked at Mackenzie in Wyatt's arms and cooed at her.

"She is precious," Quil said.

"They are all precious," Embry said from across the room.

Several people agreed, coming out of their own little worlds. Bella came down the stairs then and looked around for a second before saying anything. "Wow," she said. "There are a lot of babies here."

We all laughed together, and I felt a sudden sense of rightness in the world. The craziness and worry from a few hours ago was diminishing as I looked at the sleeping faces of my two little angels.

"Okay," Bella said. "We made breakfast, and I think that there are going to be quite a few visitors here in about a half an hour. So, if you would like to grab your children and come on up stairs, we've got a ton of food with your names on it."

Lyssie pulled herself gently and gracefully up, and I noticed that she didn't wince at all. I guess having two babies just a couple of years ago made this a little easier. Lauren, Kaylie, and Abbey all got a hand up from their husbands, but were soon making their way up the stairs to the smell of something delicious. The rest of us looked at each other.

"Well," I said. "I'm starving," I slowly shifted Jason into Quil's other arm, and braced myself for standing up. I took a deep breath and pushed up, trying to use my legs more than my stomach to push myself up. "_Wo-ow_…" I said as I pulled myself up. "Yeah," I said, trying not to fall over on myself as I felt my sore muscles straining to support my torso. "That was uh… interesting."

A few people laughed, including Quil as he stood up easily, one baby in each arm. He gave me Jayna, and I kissed her head before I slowly started making my way up the stairs. "Good lord," I said as I worked my way up the stairs. "This is ridiculous."

Quil put one of his hands on my lower back, steadying me. "You can do it," he said.

"Ha," I said. "Easy for you to say."

Soon though I was sitting on one of the tall barstools in the kitchen, one baby in my arms and the other on my legs, while Quil got a plate for me and for himself. Bella laid out a blanket at one end of the kitchen, and after setting our plates down, Quil took the babies and laid them next to their cousins. I have to admit, it was pretty funny seeing ten tiny little bundles lying all right next to each other. They were precious. Bella took a picture of it, and I thought about how cool it would be if we did this every year on the kid's birthdays. They would like it when they were… oh, about my age. In my head I willed that time to pass slowly, and I hoped to enjoy every minute of it.

The breakfast was delicious, and the babies slept through the whole thing. As we were finishing up our breakfast, I could hear the first cars on the driveway. I was still moving very gingerly, but I slowly made my way downstairs with Jason. He fit perfectly in the crook of my arm. I took a seat on the couch about where I had given birth, and Quil sat next to me. In fact, all eighteen of us, plus our brand new babies were squeezed onto the couch, similarly how we had been last night. Quil kissed me on the head, and then Edward opened the door.

"Welcome to your house," Edward said as Dan came in.

"Ha," Dan said. "Funny."

"You don't want to know what went down here a few hours ago," Edward said.

"Eh," Dan said. "I'm just not asking."

"Good plan."

Slowly, everyone filed into the room. Madi and Marc immediately went over to Brooke and Embry, and Brooke held up Bridgette for them to see. Embry pulled Madi onto his lap, and Marc took a seat on the floor. Elizabeth and Evan were going over to Seth and Abbey, and Seth showed his five-year-olds their new, fragile little sister. Anna climbed off of Bryce's back and ran to Collin, who scooped her into his arms. Kaylie showed Anna her brother Mitchell, and she looked amazed. Tyler ran away from Bryce's hand, and straight to Brady. He picked him up and plopped him on his lap as Lauren demonstrated Sydney to him. Jon and Jayde, the littlest of those who just got a new brother or sister, timidly walked over to Michael and Lyssie. Lyssie showed them Noah, and I could hear them both start babbling in their almost-four-year-old voices. It was adorable. Everyone was kind of standing around staring at all of these babies, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of love in the room.

Cade was slowly creeping over to me and Quil and peeking at the bundles in our arms. "Hey buddy," Quil said to him. We both glanced at each other and then held out our babies for him to see.

Cade smiled at them. "They look alike," Cade said. Jake was now crouched by his son, with one arm wrapped around him.

"God Quil," Jacob said. "They're beautiful."

"I know," Quil said.

"They look just like you," Jacob said to me.

"Thanks," I said.

Eila was sitting with Bryce while he held his new niece Sydney. The Cullens were here too, and I saw Rosalie and Alice talking to Brooke and Embry. Emmett was talking to Zach about something and they both laughed.

Suddenly I saw Jenny's face shift out of the crowd of people. "There you are," I called to her. "Thanks for saving my life last night."

"Yeah Jenny," Seth said. "Doing it like a frikin' beast."

Jenny looked down and smiled shyly, and her resemblance to Emily was shocking at that moment. "I didn't even do anything," she said.

"Hey now," Carlisle said from where he was perched in the window seat. "You did enough. If it wasn't for you, I would've either been doing stitches with one hand or that baby would have been laying on the floor."

"Wait," Sam said. "Who needed stitches?"

"Me," I said. "It was awesome."

"I almost peed my pants when you were passing out," Jenny said and everyone laughed.

"I almost peed my pants," Edward said. "And I can't do that, so that's saying something."

More laughter. "I didn't realize it was that bad," I said.

"It wasn't that terrible of a tear," Carlisle said. "But you lost a lot of blood _really_ fast. A lot faster than most people would."

"Wow," I said. "It just hurt a lot from my perspective."

Carlisle laughed. "It was an interesting delivery to say at the least."

Everyone was around us now, either with babies in their arms, or holding their own children.

"You know," Jenny said as she held Jason. "I don't think I'm ever having children."

"Oh God," Emily said. "We traumatized her."

Jenny laughed. "Well, at least not anytime in the near future."

"I would sure hope not," Sam said.

Quil held out Jayna to him and Sam took her. "Aw," he said. "I always forget how little they are when they first come out."

"Yeah," I said. "Little. Right."

Sam laughed. "Cherish it," he said. "Cause the next thing you know, she's going to be delivering babies in the middle of the night."

Quil laughed. "Okay," he said. "Let's just let her be twenty-four hours old first."

Caleb and Mikayla were each holding one of Derek's hands, and he was very fascinated with all the little babies, babbling on about who-knows-what.

Quil was now holding Jayna again, and looking at each other, we switched babies.

"Oh hey," Brian said as he sat down at my feet. Brian was one of the older eagles. He wasn't imprinted on anybody, just like all of the older eagles weren't. "So," he said. "Rumor has it that you gave birth on my favorite spot on this couch."

"You know," I said. "That rumor is probably true."

He laughed. "Well," he said. "I'm going to do my best not to think about that the next time I'm sitting here."

"Ha ha," I said. "Okay."

Pretty soon all ten of the babies were being passed around from hand to hand, and I did my best to just relax and let others hold them. Quil held my hand and Jayde sat on my lap as different babies were passed to us. She was gabbing about her new little brother, but that's about all I could understand. Eventually, everyone started leaving. One way or another I ended up with both of my warm little bundles back in my arms. The house seemed empty after everyone had gone, even though there were still over twenty people there, not including the babies. We all tried to get up and walk around a little. I was still extremely sore, and it hurt really badly to walk, but I forced myself to stand up straight and stretch out my sore muscles.

Around five o'clock that night, after Carlisle had checked my stitches and given the babies all of their shots, we got our few things together and decided to head for home. Jacob was coming over with our car to bring us home. Quil had spent a couple hours installing the car seats about a week ago. Jacob knew where our extra set of keys were, so everything would work out perfectly.

It took both Quil and I about fifteen minutes to get the kids into their car seats safely with their straps all on correctly, but Bella told us everything looked good before we left. She gave me a gentle, cool embrace and told us good luck on the first night. I laughed a little nervously, but I knew everything would be fine. I rode in the back in between the two car seats on the way home, and Quil rode up front with Jacob.

After Jacob dropped us off, we brought the kids in the house and set them in their car seats next to each other.

Quil and I looked at each other.

"Now what?" Quil asked, and we both cracked up laughing.

"Well," I said. "We should probably get some dinner or something."


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

"Right," Quil said. He went into the kitchen to start cooking something, and I took Jayna and Jason out of their car seats. I laid them on a blanket in the living room, where we could see them from the kitchen table.

Our first night together was interesting. The kids both needed a proper bath, a concept that was new to both of us. Quil brought a little bucket of water into the living room and poured some of the freshly-opened baby soap into it. He brought me two washcloths and a pair of diapers, and I decided to go to it.

I stripped Jason down to just his diaper and laid him on the floor. He was awake now, and his little eyes looked up at me curiously. I dipped the washcloth in the soapy water and gently started wiping him down.

A few minutes after starting Quil came around the corner with our video camera.

"Oh hi," I said, giving him a smirk.

"Hey," he said. "What are you doing?"

"Oh you know," I said. "Giving our children their first baths. No big deal."

"Nope," Quil said. "Not a big deal at all."

He filmed the whole process with Jayna lying patiently on a blanket next to us. I put lotion on Jason, changed his diaper, and swaddled him in his pajamas. They fit him well. I got him all wrapped up in his blanket and gave him to Quil, so he had the camera in one hand and Jason in the other.

Quil filmed the whole process with Jayna only she made a little more noise than her brother. She didn't like the lukewarm water very much, and she cried the whole time. She wasn't very loud though, so Quil and I talked over her, laughing.

Both Quil and I were pretty wiped after that, and after showering, decided it was bedtime for all of us. We laid the babies in the bassinettes we had in our room, and shut off the lights. They had been asleep since after their baths at this point. I curled up next to Quil and pushed my full body against his, something I hadn't been able to do in quite a few months.

"Hi," he whispered to me through the darkness.

"Hi," I whispered back.

"I'm so proud of you, Claire," Quil said to me, kissing me on the lips.

"I don't know," I said. "I was kind of scared."

Quil chuckled. "I was terrified. But you did good."

"Thanks," I said. I kissed him. "And thanks for being there. I couldn't have done it without you."

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," I told him.

We were both asleep within minutes.

I slept like a rock for the first three hours that night. I'm pretty convinced that the house could have been burning down around me and I still would have stayed asleep. Around midnight though, I woke up from Quil shaking my arm.

I immediately heard crying, and rolled over to find Quil standing there with Jayna in his arms. She was crying her eyes out, but still wasn't very loud. I could hear Jason crying in his bassinette. "What's up?" I asked, suddenly very awake. I started to climb out of bed to get Jason, and did my best not to cringe as I felt my over-tired muscles strain.

"I'm not sure," Quil said. "I've tried rocking her and changing her, but she's been crying for twenty minutes now."

"Okay," I said, pulling Jason out of the crib and feeling his little body curl into my chest. I thought for a moment and took in my surroundings.

I turned to Quil. "I could try to nurse them," I said.

He gave me a look. "Can you do that?" he asked.

I looked down at my chest. "I feel like that is a very strong possibility."

He chuckled. "Okay," he said. "Where do you want to do this?"

"Well," I said. "Let's just try it in the bed."

I held Jason in one arm and threw another pillow up onto the bed. I climbed up and leaned back, contemplating the task in front of me.

I shot Quil one more look, and then just went for it.

I had never experienced anything like it before in my life. Both of them figured out how to do it immediately. I was quite impressed. I had also never felt more connected to anything in my life. Not even Quil. The four of us sat there for over an hour; a family.

The kids let Quil and I sleep until six am, but after that, they were up. We got up and got ready to start our day. My parents were coming over at nine; they still hadn't got to meet their grandchildren. Quil showered while I got the kids dressed, and then I showered. It was very different having two little babies in the house, but they were both relatively laid back.

During my parents visit Quil and my dad assembled the electric swings that had been handed down to us from Leah and Emily. We got Jason and Jayna cozy in them and they both loved it. My mom started taking a million pictures of course, falling into the brand-new grandma mode immediately. It was adorable.

Quil had work that night, and I knew Wyatt was running patrol, so I decided to call Ashley and see if she wanted to brave our first times alone with our children together. She laughed at me, but told me yes. She would come over around seven.

Ashley and I had a great time. Mackenzie was a little bit feistier than either Jason or Jayna, but she wasn't fussy. She was just strong-willed. Both Ashley and I were fast asleep on the couch by the time Quil got home, and I woke up in bed.

About a week after the kids had been born, Sam and Emily decided to have a bonfire. It had been several weeks since our last one, and I missed talking to everyone. This was our first time really going out with the kids, even if we were only going to be a few blocks away to Sam and Emily's back yard. We had to officially pack a diaper bag, and ours was big enough that we could fit both of their things inside it.

We brought three large containers of potato salad to the bonfire, and got to Sam and Emily's house just as the sun was starting to set. The weather was absolutely perfect for La Push, and I couldn't imagine being more content as we each pulled one of the babies out of the car. I got the diaper bag, and Quil managed all three of the potato salads in his empty arm. The sound of all the kids playing was so familiar and comforting that I was smiling from ear to ear as we walked around the corner.

"Hey guys!" Cory said as we walked into the backyard. He took the potato salad from Quil and took it into the kitchen where there was massive spread of food. The Cullens were all here, and would be staying here for a couple more weeks.

There was a blanket laid out that I assume the babies had all been laying on, but they were all being passed from hand to hand still. I sat down in a lawn chair that was set out next to Bella, and she said hello. "How are you feeling?" Bella asked me.

"Great," I told her. "Honestly."

"I'm glad to hear it," Bella said.

It wasn't long before I passed Jayna to Rosalie, and Jason was already being cooed at by Alice and Jasper. I talked to Nessie at a million miles a minute about _everything_. The Cullens helped us get all of the kid's food and it wasn't long before we were all sitting around eating the delicious food.

I only had to go inside to nurse the kids once, and Lauren, Lyssie, and Nicole were all inside doing the same thing. It was pretty funny as we all sat there nursing our brand new babies. Nicole and I still had no clue what we were doing, but Lyssie showed me some tricks about how to nurse both of them at the same time, and that helped a lot.

Emily started a movie inside around nine o'clock for the kids, and Jenny and Nick were supervising that. We brought the babies inside, and told Nick to come get one of us if they started getting fussy. At that point though, they were all already asleep and shouldn't be much of a problem for the next few hours.

It was much quieter with all of the kids falling asleep while watching the movie, and I could hear all of the sounds I had grown up with during my summers in La Push. It was peaceful, and leaning on Quil's shoulder, I was very content.

Suddenly, I felt Bella stiffen where she was beside me, and jump to her feet. The other Cullens were already on their feet, speaking too quickly for me to keep up. I stood up swiftly, as did everyone else. I couldn't understand what was going on around me, but scenes like this one were all too familiar from my childhood. Quil was beginning to quiver beside me, and I subconsciously moved toward the house. Emily grabbed my hand, and we stood in front of the back door with all of the other humans in that backyard.

"It's okay," Andrea said to the group, slowing down enough for me to understand. "They aren't bad…"

But neither she nor any of her family members moved from their defensive positions.

I held my breath, and in the dead silence I could just barely hear the sound of footsteps slowly approaching the house, coming from the woods. I stared in the direction of the sound, and I could suddenly make out a pair of deep golden eyes, glowing from the dark of the woods.

A man, clearly vampire, emerged slowly, with his hand at his sides, palms toward us. "I come in peace," he said very slowly. He stopped just a few yards from Carlisle, and Carlisle slowly stood up.

The man took one fleeting glance around, but his movements were very quick. "My name is Jai," he said, and his accent was faintly Indian. "Are you, in fact" he said. "The Cullens?"

Carlisle was quiet for only a second. "We are," he said. "Can I help you with something?"

Two more vampires walked out of the woods just then with their hands at their sides, palms out. "These are my family members; Kahini and Mayur," Jai said.

"My name is Carlisle," Carlisle said, skipping the rest of our introductions.

He glanced around uncertainly at all of the vampires, werewolves, and humans surrounding him. He stopped when his eyes got to Nessie.

"I see your eyes are gold," Carlisle said. "Why don't you start there?"

Jai let out a short, small chuckle. "Well," he said. "A few years ago, when the Volturi asked all of the vampires all over the world to come to Volterra, I was entranced by your life style. I suggested the idea to my family, and we started incorporating it into our normal diet. Within the last two years though is when we have really made an attempt at a 'vegetarian' lifestyle. We all mess up sometimes, but we have been much happier since we changed our diets."

"I'm glad to hear it," Carlisle said. "May I ask where you're from?"

"Dapoli, India," Jai said.

"I was there a couple hundred years ago," Carlisle said. "The people there are very friendly."

"Yes," Jai said. He looked around again very quickly, and then turned toward Bella. "Is your name Bella?" he asked her.

Bella looked a little startled. "Yes," she said calmly. "Can I help you with something?"

He darted his eyes to Nessie again and I could visibly see Jacob tense. "Is that your daughter?" Jai asked Bella.

"Yes," Bella said. "She is."

Jai sighed, and seemed to relax the slightest bit. "We have come because we need your help with something."

"I'm all ears," Bella said.

"Recently, one of our family members has been put in the same situation you were in a few years ago."

Bella squinted her eyes. "Is she pregnant?"

Jai nodded. "If that's what you can even call it. It's… horrific."

"Who is the father?" Edward asked immediately.

"My son, Sanjiv," Jai said.

"How far along is she?" Carlisle asked.

"We only found out about two weeks ago," Jai said. "Since then, we have been busy tracking you down. Every vampire we met said you were the only ones who could help us." Jai hung his head. "She is so young," he said quietly.

"We can help you," Carlisle said. "But we need to get back to Dapoli as soon as possible."

"Will she live?" Jai asked suddenly.

"She will be as living as you and I are," Carlisle said. "That is if I have anything to say about it."

Jai sighed. "Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this will mean to Sanjiv. How much it means to me," he added.

"I think I know," Edward muttered.

"How fast can we get a plane to Dapoli?" Carlisle asked.

"I'm already on it," Esme said, and I noticed that she was on her cell phone.

"Get a ticket for me," Bella said.

"And me," Edward added.

"Six total," Esme said to herself.

Edward and Carlisle started speaking very rapidly to Jai, and I could no longer keep up with the conversation.

I saw Bella walk over to Nessie, who was standing just a few yards in front of me. Bella gave her daughter a hug.

"I guess it's good we wrote everything down…" Nessie said. She sighed. "I think I'm in shock."

"I know I'm in shock," Bella said.

"There's a flight that leaves in seventy minutes from Port Angeles," Esme said.

Joel tossed Edward his keys. "Take our car," he said. "I'll ride up with you and drive it back down."

Edward kissed Nessie on the head, and then they were gone.

Everything moved so quickly in the vampire world.

"Well then," Jasper said a minute later. He sat back down around the fire. "Business as usual."

Everyone laughed, and we slowly made our way back to the fire. Quil squeezed my hand as we sat down together.

"I cannot believe this is happening…" Nessie said. She shook her head.

"Neither can I," Seth said.

"I'm scared, quite honestly," Jacob said.

"Me too," Alice said. "We don't need a repeat of last time."

"Yup," Emmett said. "Glad I wasn't there for that one."

"It was disgusting," Rosalie said.

"My husband is talking about my birth," Nessie said. "Oh my god."

Everyone laughed at that.

I stood up to go check on the kids. When I came in, all of them were asleep except for Nick. "Hey," I said.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Can't sleep?" I asked him.

He looked around at all of the little kids laying on him. Even Jenny was crashed on his shoulder. "Believe it or not," he said. "I'm a little hot."

I laughed, and put my hand on his head. "Man," I said. "You are a little warm. Are you feeling okay?"

"Alright I guess," Nick said.

"Huh," I said. "Well okay. Did you hear what happened out there?" I asked.

"Most of it," Nick said. "Sounds pretty scary."

I nodded. "Just a little."

I stood up and went back out to the fire. "Everyone is asleep," I said. "Except for Nick," I added.

"That kid doesn't sleep," Joel said. "No matter what time I go into his room, he is always awake."

"Maybe he's about to grow," Emily suggested.

"I feel like this is a strong possibility," Leah said. "We can hardly keep him fed."

It wasn't long after that we decided to call it a night. Quil and I were exhausted, and I knew this was going to be becoming a trend now that we had our beautiful babies. We got them buckled into their car seats, and Jason screamed the whole way home. Of course, as soon as we pulled into the garage, he was quiet. Quil and I couldn't help but be amused by the whole situation.

The night was relatively uneventful. I had to feed the kids at three am, but Quil sat up with me. It didn't take us long. They were good at nursing, and their little tummies couldn't hold much milk yet anyways.

The next day both Quil and I had work, fortunately at different times. My mom was going to help out whenever our shifts overlapped, but for now, we were good. It would get a little more hectic in the fall when I started school again, but everything would work out.

I was opening the store by six, and home by noon. It was short shift, and I was glad to see my coworkers again. Quil had to work from one to five, and I prayed he didn't have to handle any horrific emergencies. He had already been the 911 operator for one reported suicide, and that was a hard thing to handle. The mother had been beside herself.

Emily had invited me and the babies over for dinner the night before, and Quil was planning on joining us as soon as he got off work. I brought the babies over around five, and the house smelled great when we walked in.

"Hey," Emily said from the kitchen.

"Hi," I said, a little breathless from carrying both babies and a diaper bag. Sam came and took the kids from me and sat them down in the living room.

"Thanks," I said.

"No problem." The babies were looking around as Allison cooed at them. Everything seemed fine, so I set the diaper bag and my purse down and went and sat in the kitchen with Emily.

"Where's Jenny?" I asked her.

"She and Nick went our hiking around three. I told them to be back by six, but they'll be back earlier if they're hungry enough."

"Are Leah and Joel coming over?" I asked.

"They're both working actually, but their three youngest kids are here. They were in the girl's room the last time I checked. "

"I see," I said.

We chatted for another half hour or so, and then Quil got there. It wasn't long before Emily started looking at the clock.

"They should be back soon…" she said to herself.

"I'm sure they're on their way," Sam said.

Quil and I helped set the table and set up two card table for the eight kids. They were pretty much old enough to be eating with us at this point, but their honestly wasn't enough room.

It was getting pretty close to six o'clock and dinner was ready, but Nick and Jenny weren't back yet. Emily sat down at the table to talk with Quil, Sam, and I, and I noticed as she kept glancing at the clock. We all were.

Suddenly, Quil jumped and stood up from the table. I glanced up at him and then the door as I watched Sam run out of it. Quil was right behind him. I only had one second to give Emily a puzzled look before we could hear what had made them jump.

"_Dad!_" Jenny shrieked from somewhere in the backyard of the house.

"_Jenny_," Emily said, knocking her chair over as she stood up and ran out the back door. I was only about a second behind her.

I followed her out the back door and quickly saw both Sam and Quil. Standing at the edge of the woods and the backyard was Jenny. Her small frame was nearly hidden by Sam and Quil, but as we neared her, Sam knelt down.

I could see all too clearly a long gash from her elbow to the middle of her pinky finger. She wasn't crying, but she was pale, and looked completely traumatized.

"Jenny," Sam said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "What happened?"

"Nick!" she gasped, completely out of breath. "He exploded into a wolf!"

Sam muttered something under his breath and shot one look at Emily. "It was a kitchen accident," he said, pointing at Jenny's arm. "Take her to the hospital; I'll call Leah."

Sam and Quil were gone in the next second, and I knew they had shifted. No wonder Nick had felt warm last night…

"Jenny," Emily said in a gasp. She wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders and hustled her inside. I followed them, still in shock. She grabbed a towel from under her sink and handed it to Jenny. "Wrap it around your arm and hold it tight," she told her daughter. "Claire can you watch the kids?"

"Yes," I said immediately. "Please call me…" I called as they walked out the door. Jenny slid into the front seat of the car, and I watched them speed away.

I was left with six pairs of eyes staring out the window, very confused.

I shook my head and looked over at my kids who were currently looking around distractedly, still in their car seats. "It's okay you guys," I said. "Let's eat dinner."

I went into the kitchen and pulled out the chicken Emily had been keeping warm. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm down from that experience. I had been around stuff like this my whole life, but for some reason, I just didn't handle it as well as Emily or Rachel handled it. I still kind of wigged out.

I gave Brandon and Alexis knives to cut their chicken with, and then I got to work on the other kids. Everyone was very quiet. Allison said thank you when I gave her the cut up chicken, but Cole, Paige, and Ryan just stared at me with wide eyes.

"Okay guys," I said.

"Is Jenny going to be okay?" Allison asked.

"She's going to be fine," I said.

"Claire," Brandon said. I looked at him. "What happened?"

I took a deep breath. "Well," I said. "Do you guys know what your parents do?"

"Yes," Brandon and Alexis said solemnly.

"How about you guys?" I said to Cole and Allison.

"I think so," Cole said. Allison just nodded.

"My mom is a teacher," Ryan said sweetly. Paige just looked scared.

"You're right," I told him.

I turned back to the older kids. I sighed. "Nick is a lot like your parents now," I said.

Alexis looked at me. "Do you think that's a good thing?"

I smiled at her. "I think it's a natural thing, Lex."

She smiled. "Is that going to happen to Jenny too?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe." I looked around the table at all of these beautiful little babies. "It might happen to all of you."

"I'm scared," Cole said.

"That's okay," I told him. I stood up and gave all of them a kiss on the head. "We're just going to stay here for a while and eventually your parents will come get you guys. It'll be fine."

Just then, I heard two howls come consecutively. Soon after, I heard Dan calling to the other eagles. It must have taken them a while to get Nick calmed down.

Alexis looked at me. "He's going to be okay," she said.

I nodded. "He's going to be the best," I told her. The ability of these kids to comprehend such an adult situation was baffling me. Then again, I had been doing it since I was three.


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

After dinner, I sent the kids to play, and I cleaned Emily's whole kitchen. I started a movie around nine, and they were all asleep in about fifteen minutes. Emily and Jenny got home at ten, and the three of us went into the kitchen to talk.

"Sam texted me about half an hour ago telling me Nick was fine, but he was really irked by the whole event. Sam and Quil are sitting with him until Leah and Joel get home, and that should be any minute now."

"How are you Jenny?" I asked her. She looked tired.

"I'm okay," she said. "Really, I am. It's all numb now. Forty stitches is a lot though."

"_Forty_?" I said, astonished.

"Yeah," Jenny said.

"Wow," I said. "That is a lot."

Emily sighed. "I'm worried about Nick."

Jenny nodded. "He's going to be mad at himself."

I nodded. "He'll forgive himself eventually."

"Yeah," Jenny said. "Like thirty years from now."

I blinked, and looked over to make sure my kids were still sleeping. I had moved them to a blanket after dinner, but they were pretty much out by then anyway. "Do you think it's going to happen to all of them?" I asked quietly.

Emily sighed. "Sam and I have been talking about that for a few months now." She rubbed her tired eyes. "I think it's bound to happen to some of them. Especially the older boys. I don't know about you, Jenny."

Jenny shrugged. "If it happens, it happens."

Emily cleared her throat. "Sam has been talking about stopping. Actually, I think all of them have been."

"I was thinking about that the other night," I admitted. "Just because they're immortal doesn't mean the person they imprint on is too."

"Jacob won't ever stop," Emily said. "Neither will Bryce."

I raised my eyebrows. "I guess I never thought about that." I shook my head. "I'm sure they don't want to leave Nessie or Eila."

"I'm sure they don't," Emily said. Emily sighed and looked at me. "Do you ever wish it hadn't happened to you?"

"No," I said. "Never."

"Me neither," Emily said.

I smiled, and looked over to check on my kids. "I got Quil," I said. "And them."

Emily smiled back at me. "I know," she said.

I heard footsteps and quiet voices at the door. Sam, Quil, and Joel walked through the door then.

They came around the corner, and they all looked like they had been through half of hell.

"Jenny," Sam said, and he picked his semi-adult daughter and held her tight. "I'm so sorry."

"Dad," Jenny said. "I'm really okay. It's not anybody's fault." She sighed as he put her down. "And anyway. I'm the one who pissed him off."

Sam gave her an eyebrow raise at her choice of words, but didn't comment on them. "That doesn't make it your fault either," he said.

Jenny shrugged. "I know," she said. "Is he okay?"

"He will be," Joel said. "And he's taking it a lot better than I am."

Quil gave him a pat on the back. "It'll settle into a new normal eventually."

"I know," Joel said. "It's just going to be weird for a while." He stretched his arms over his head. "I'm going to take my kids home. Thanks for keeping them Emily."

"Oh please," Emily said. "They keep my kids busy."

I watched as Joel woke up a sleepy Alexis and Cole, and pulled Paige up to his shoulder.

"You want a ride?" Quil asked him.

"Nah," Joel said. "It's just across the street. They can make it."

I watched out the kitchen window as Joel took Cole by the hand and started a sleepy walk over to his house. Leah was waiting at the door for them, and she looked like she was barely holding herself together.

This was going to be a hard transition to make.

Quil and I took the babies home after saying good bye to Sam and Emily. They were both still sleeping soundly when Quil and I got into bed, but I knew it would only be a few hours before we got a wakeup call.

A few days later, Jacob, Nessie, and their kids were spending an afternoon with us. It was beautiful outside, and their kids were running around like lunatics burning off all kinds of energy. Bryce came over after a while, and I invited everyone to stay for dinner. I was just about to go into the kitchen when Jacob's phone rang.

"It's your mom," he said to Nessie.

"Oh," she said. "Maybe the baby was born." Edward, Bella, and Carlisle had been in India for about a week now. Apparently things had been bad, but the girl, Amari, was a trooper. She barely spoke English, but her spirits had soared when she saw Bella. She and Bella had been spending every second together since the moment they got there.

"Hey," Jacob said. "I'm putting you on speaker."

"Okay then," Bella said. "Who am I talking to?"

"Me, Jake, Bryce, Claire, and Quil," Nessie said.

"Hey guys," Bella said.

"Was the baby born?" Nessie asked.

"You are not a patient child," Bella said.

"Mom," Nessie said. "I can't take the suspense."

"She had a beautiful baby girl," Bella said. "They named her Zemati."

"And Amari?" Nessie questioned.

"Is currently on her way to becoming a vampire," Bella said.

"Wow," Jake said. "Did everything go smoothly?"

"More smoothly than mine did, that's for sure," Bella told him.

Nessie sighed. "Well that's a huge relief."

"Where did they get the name?" I asked.

Bella chuckled. "Well," she said. "There's been a bit of a language barrier between Amari and I, but I eventually figured out what she was trying to say. Apparently, in Indian, Zena means Brave, and Hemati means happy. Those are the two things they wanted their daughter to be. So they pulled a me and named her Zemati. I like it."

I could barely keep up with the conversation at the end, but I got most of it. "That's a beautiful name," I said.

"She's a beautiful girl," Bella said.

"Growing well?" Nessie asked.

"Well you know," Bella said. "Considering you're the only person we have tabs on, she's a little below average."

Jacob laughed. "I'm sure she'll catch up, because let's face it: Nessie's not growing anywhere."

"Unless I was pregnant," Nessie said.

There was one moment of complete and utter silence, even over the phone.

"I'm kidding," Nessie said.

We all burst into laughter, and the babies (who were lying at our feet), woke up screaming at the loud noise.

"I'll let you guys go," Bella said. "It sounds like you've got your hands full there."

I rocked Jason back to sleep, and Quil bounced Jayna until she was calm. They were both sleeping contently again a few moments later.

The next two weeks were hectic, but fun. Quil and I were learning to function as a family unit, instead of as just the two of us. The whole Dapoli clan was planning a visit in about a week. Amari had come through the transformation well, and was adjusting quickly to the vampire lifestyle. I was looking forward to meeting them, even if I was a little nervous about my babies being around a brand new vampire. Even though I knew the Cullens wouldn't let anything happen, I was still nervous.

On the day the Dapoli clan came, we were all planning on meeting at the big white house at noon. Quil was working that morning, so he was meeting us over there. I packed the kids into their car seats, and gave them each their pacifiers. They were quite content so long as they had those.

When I got to the big white house, it was chaos as always. There was lots of food and people. I grabbed a car seat in either hand and threw the diaper bag across my shoulders. I hauled the kids up the front steps and Jenny was waiting at the door for me.

"Hey," she said.

"Help," I said, and I handed her Jayna's car seat.

"Wow," she said. "They've gotten a lot bigger."

"I know," I said breathlessly. It was hard carrying two babies.

The other babies were all laid out on a blanket, and Jenny and I pulled Jason and Jayna out and laid them next to their cousins. I flopped down next to Ashley on the couch and caught my breath.

"You gonna make it there Claire?" Corey asked me.

"Sure," I said, still breathless. I turned to Ashley, who was calmly staring at me. "My boobs hurt," I told her.

She burst into laughter, along with a few other people in the room. The others who had heard were pretending that they hadn't. "I was thinking the same thing," Ashley said.

"Yeah?" I said. "Good."

Quil came through the door just then. He must have only been a few minutes behind us. "Well," he said. "I always have been good at walking in at awkward times."

"Amen to that," Embry said, and Jacob chortled. I didn't care to know the details of that story.

Quil sat down on the floor next to me, and for a while, I just listened to the noises around me. The eagle guys were playing a serious game of poker in the kitchen, and some of the older kids were watching. The younger kids were in the next room over, playing a variety of games. They weren't too noisy, and their little voices were priceless. Nick was staring absentmindedly out the window by the door, and I wondered what he was thinking about.

"What time are they supposed to get here?" I asked no one in particular.

"Any time now," Nessie said. "They landed in Port Angeles thirty minutes ago, and my dad is driving."

Sure enough, it was only about five minutes later that I heard tires on the long drive. "Try not to overwhelm them guys," Nessie said. "Amari is just learning English."

The house got eerily quiet as the car doors slammed outside. I could hear Edward speaking, and someone laughing, but I didn't know what he was saying. We all stood to face the door, which was probably not the best idea, but I was anxious to meet these new friends.

Carlisle led the way in. "Hi!" He said cheerfully. Cade jumped into his great grandfather's arms.

Behind Carlisle, the four vampires who found us a few weeks ago came filing in. Jai smiled warmly, and made eye contact with me. I smiled back.

Edward came in with who I thought must be Sanjiv, the father of the baby. He was about an inch taller than Edward, and I was struck by his magnificent beauty. Right behind them, Bella came in, pulling a girl of about eighteen behind her. I caught my breath; she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had miles on Julia, and was even prettier than Rosalie. It almost brought tears to my eyes.

Cradled in one of her arms was a little baby who looked to be a few months old. The baby's eyes were wide open. Her eyes were the color Julia's used to be; an extremely bright green. Her hair was as black as her parents, and it shimmered in the light. She was gorgeous.

"Hello," Amari said with a heavy Indian accent.

"Amari," Bella said. She grabbed Nessie's hand. "This is our daughter; Nessie."

"Oh," Amari said. "You are beautiful."

Nessie let out her bell-like laugh. "Thank you," she said. She pointed to Eila who was semi-hiding behind Jacob's leg. "That is my daughter; Eila," she said. She pointed to Cade, who was still in Carlisle's arms. "And that is my son; Cade."

She looked at Sanjiv and said something rapidly in Indian.

"She said that you have a beautiful family, and that it is very nice to finally meet you," Sanjiv translated.

"Thank-you," Nessie said, her warm smile never leaving her face. "Is this your daughter?" she asked Amari.

"Yes," Amari said. "Her name is Zemati."

"That is a lovely name, for a lovely girl," Nessie said.

"Thank-you," Amari said.

I looked at the others. Everyone was smiling shyly at the new vampires, and I hoped something happened to ease the awkward tension soon.

My eyes zeroed in on Nick.

He looked funny. He looked completely detached from the situation, like he was in another world. He was staring at Zemati like she was the sun.

Suddenly, something clicked inside of me. He was looking at her the way Quil looked at me.

"Nick…" I said sharply, yet unable to hide my astonishment.

He looked at me, and something passed between us. "Yes," he said, partially answering my call, and partially answering my unspoken question.

"What?" Joel asked, extremely confused.

"I just imprinted," Nick said extremely calmly. "On Zemati."

The silence that followed his statement was horrifically long. One of the kids in the other room coughed, and then went back to playing with their toys.

"Oh my God," Edward said.

"What's going on?" Sanjiv asked Edward.

Edward began speaking very rapidly to Sanjiv, and Amari looked fearful. She held Zemati close to her, and glared at Nick. She looked very afraid. The second Edward stopped speaking, Sanjiv immediately started translating for Amari.

Jared, who was standing behind Nick, put his hand on Nick's shoulder. "Just stay right here," Jared said. I looked at Amari's half terrified, half livid face, and then looked at everyone around me. Quil looked like he was on the verge of losing it, and I realized suddenly how much danger we were all in.

I moved to stand by the blanket with the babies on it, and sat down next to Jason and Jayna. I put one hand on either of them, ready to grab them and run for it if I had to. Slowly, Amari began to understand what was happening, and began to look less angry, and more timid. After several heart pounding minutes, Amari slowly brought Zemati towards Nick, and held her out to him. Nick looked terrified, but smiled when she curled into his shoulder. She made a contented humming noise, and fell asleep right there.

"Be nice to her," Amari said, and I knew this was the only thing she could say in English that properly fit the situation.

"I will," Nick said.

Amari nodded, and went to stand with the rest of her family. Bella grabbed her hand again, and I relaxed.

It was slightly awkward after that, but we eventually broke off into smaller conversations. Jason and Jayna needed to be nursed, and so did a few other screaming babies by the sound of it. I hadn't really nursed in front of a lot of people, but Abbey started doing it, so I assumed it was okay. I chuckled at my reasoning, and pulled Jayna onto my lap.

"Do you nurse both of them at the same time?" Brooke asked me.

"You know," I said. "I've never really even thought about doing that…"

"Do you want me to show you how?"

"Uh," I said. "Sure, I guess."

She picked up Jason who was slowly working himself into hysterics, and pulled three pillows off the couch. She stacked them around me, and then laid the babies so that they were each lying under my arms. "I have something they actually make for this," Brooke said. "It takes the place of the pillows. I can give it to you if you want."

I laughed again. "I feel like I'm being milked."

"You are," Abbey said. "It's horrific, and yet incredibly calming."

Every time I moved even a muscle, one of the babies unlatched. It was kind of frustrating, but I survived the entire nursing period. I pulled the babies from me and laid then back on their blanket. I threw myself back onto the couch. "Now my boobs really hurt…" I mumbled. Ashley laughed from across the room and shot me a thumbs up.

Amari sat down next to Nick in the window seat, and he gave her Zemati back. Sanjiv sat at her feet, with his knees pulled up to his chest. He was scanning the room slowly, and I turned so he wouldn't see me staring. I wondered if he had any special talents that I didn't know about. He could know what I was thinking right now, and I wouldn't know about it.

"Claire," Edward said. "No."

I smiled at him. "Thanks," I said. There were some advantages to having a friend who could read your mind.

Someone was cooking up dinner in the kitchen, and I knew whatever they were making, there would have to be a lot of it. I personally hadn't contributed anything, but I decided to go in there and help anyway. Quil could watch the kids.

Sure enough, when I went in there, Emily was cooking up a storm. There were about eight different pots on the large stove, and she was stirring something undistinguishable. Leah was slowly cutting and wrapping potatoes to bake. She looked shell shocked.

"Need help?" I asked.

"Sure," Emily said. She pointed to the pots on the stove. "Those are all filled with noodles that we're going to poor some sauce over. They need to be almost continuously stirred."

"Okay," I said. I stirred the noodles and let my mind drift. I was still marveling over the beauty of Zemati, and I wondered if that's what other people still saw in Renesmee. She was beautiful, but I must have become desensitized to her beauty at some point.

The rest of the night was relatively uneventful. We all ate dinner, and then pretty much went home. Nessie and Jacob were hosting both the Cullens that were here, and the Dapoli clan. They were going to have a relatively full house, but they would manage. I had heard Bella talking to Amari about moving to Washington earlier tonight. They would have to, now that Nick had imprinted on Zemati. It would be good for them to have Nessie and Jacob as a support system here anyways. I decided to just let the cards fall where they would on that one.

That night, I slept really hard. I had been more tired than I realized. Quil had to wake me up to feed the babies at two am. Even then, I could barely stay awake long enough to get them both fed and back to sleep. I had faint memories of Quil kissing me good bye before he went to go run patrol at four, but both the babies and I were still asleep when he came back at eight. I didn't know why I was so tired, but I felt much better after a good night's sleep.

"So," Quil told me as we were eating breakfast. "We've all been talking a lot lately, and I think it's about time we call it quits."

I partially choked on my cereal as I swallowed it. "Just like that?" I asked.

"Well," Quil said. "It's going to take some time. Jacob will never stop shifting. Neither will Bryce. So it's not like we're going to just leave Nick to figure everything out for himself."

"Okay," I said. I urged him to continue.

"For right now, just us 'old guys' are really going to stop. So Sam, Jared, Paul, Embry, Me, Joel, Leah, Seth, Brooke, Lauren, Kaylie, Collin, and Brady are going to slowly stop running patrol. And then, eventually, there won't be a reason for us to change at all."

I took a drink of my water. "How do you feel about this?"

"I think it's going to be really hard," Quil said.

"You know," I said. "It probably will be."

Quil sighed, and Jayna started fussing. He picked her up and cuddled her until she was quiet again. "That's okay," Quil said. "I have a really good reason to stay home now." He kissed Jayna on the forehead.

"Quil," I said. "How did we conceive twins?"

He burst into laughter. "No idea," he said. "But I'm glad we did. That way if we ever have other kids, they'll seem easier."

"Ha," I said. "Just watch, it'll be triplets the next time."

"No," Quil said solemnly. "Not doing it." And then we both burst into laughter.


	9. Chapter 9

**Epilogue: Perfect**

Nearly a year later, I was still getting used to Quil not shifting anymore. Today was the day of the babies' birthday party. All ten of them were a year old today. Looking back at the first year of their lives, I couldn't believe how fast it had gone. One moment Quil and I were setting their cribs up, the next we were sitting in the living room teaching them how to walk. Quil was currently attending the community college. He was getting his degree in secondary teaching. The tribal school only had one teacher for the high school, but they were looking for a second one to teach just the ninth and tenth graders. I for one knew I would have had a more fulfilling high school experience if I hadn't been taught by the same teacher for four years in a row.

The Eagles had very generously offered up their house for the birthday party. It made sense, considering that was the only place we could all really fit. The Dapoli clan had moved down here shortly after their visit. They lived way on the outskirts of Forks. It was a good twenty minutes drive from our house. They had built their house from the foundation up. Esme had designed it. It was smaller than the big white house, but it was much larger than anything we had in La Push. There were seven people living in it though, and they had the money, so good for them.

_Everyone_ was going to be at the babies' birthday party. Even the Denali clan was flying down. The Cullens were driving; hoping to attract less attention by staying out of the airport. They had started the drive about a day ago, but they made _really_ good time. We had seen them come tearing into La Push around 8:30 last night. Both Jason and Jayna had said "Whoa!" in their little baby voices. They were easily impressed.

Once at the birthday party, there were lots of kids for Jason and Jayna to play with, and parenting with a mostly adult population got much easier. We opened up the kid's presents with them as soon as everyone got there. Our kids were very distracted by the bags the presents came in, and did not understand that toys would come out of all of the cardboard boxes they had received.

It had been interesting in the last year to see how all of the different babies had developed differently. Aubrey, Seth and Abbey's little girl, had turned out to be painfully shy. She was a _huge_ daddy's girl, and spent most of the party with her siblings or her parents. She was terrified of the Denali's, whom she had never seen before in her life. Kaylie and Collin's son Mitchell was very smart. He was way more advanced at talking than any of the other kids. He loved his big sister Anna to pieces. Sydney, Lauren and Brady's daughter, was just like Mitchell in personality; very outgoing. She was trying to talk, but sometimes only Lauren and Brady could understand her. Brooke and Embry's daughter Bridgette was very rambunctious. She was well behaved, but could climb faster than any child I had ever seen. There hadn't been any emergency room trips yet, but I saw that in their near future. Nathan and Kaylie had adjusted well to having Aidan in the house. He was a very calm child, and reminded me very much of Nick when he was a baby. Kyle and Nicole had had a hard time the first few months with Logan, but he eventually got over his colic, was now a very sweet, happy little boy. Wyatt and Ashley had little Mackenzie to keep them busy. She was the first of the baby's to walk, and was now the fastest runner by far. They were constantly chasing after her. Lyssie and Michael were overjoyed with Noah. He was the happiest baby I had ever held, and smiled whenever you looked at him.

As for us, Jason and Jayna were both very similar in personality. They both were somewhere between shy and outgoing, but also both had little fear of anything. They were best friends with each other, and I hoped that would never end. Neither of them were picky eaters, but had a strange fear of cats. Quil and I figured they would grow out of it. Jayna was beautiful. She looked exactly as I had when I was younger, only with some of Quil's face. Jason was the same, only he looked more boyish than his sister. We had gotten his first hair cut just a few weeks earlier, and now he looked especially like a little boy.

Nick and Zemati were adorable. He had adjusted well to the now much smaller pack in the last year. She was roughly the size of a five year old. She was as gorgeous as the first day I had seen her, and wise beyond her years. She had no talents to speak of, but neither did any of her family members. Amari was now perfectly fluent in English, and I had grown to be quite fond of her. We had both bonded as young new moms, more so than I had thought we would. I was still a little nervous around her, but she was very understanding of why. So far, she hadn't fallen off the wagon for her diet, but sometimes it was very hard. Jai, Salena, Sanjiv, Kahini, and Mayur all liked America very much. While they didn't get out much, they said the animal selection was better, and there were more opportunities for them.

Currently, Jai and Salena were both working as charity workers for a non-for-profit organization that helped sponsor children in third world countries. Sanjiv, Amari, Kahini, and Mayur were attending classes at the Community College, and were planning on transferring to an online University sometime soon. Zemati had to be kept hidden for most of her life. Just like Nessie had, she had never been into Forks or La Push for very long. We couldn't have people asking questions until her growth rate had stabilized some. Nessie had stabilized at around four, when she had appeared to be around fourteen. She had a long few years ahead of her, but probably wouldn't even remember her first few years in the long run. She had a big house and yard, and lots of La Push cousins to play with whenever she wanted. She seemed happy to me.

We got home around midnight that night, with two sleeping babies, and lots of presents to bring in. Our kids were pretty good at staying asleep as we moved them from the car, so we just got them changed (while they were half asleep I might add), and tucked them into their cribs. I showered, and slid into bed with Quil. I curled into his now just-barely-hotter-than-mine body, and fell asleep. Everything was simply _perfect_.


End file.
